


Beckoning Lyght

by KoKoa_B (J_Linz)



Series: Lyght [2]
Category: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Marvel
Genre: Adult Language, F/M, Gen, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, No Sex, Original Character(s), Other, Pregnancy, Self Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-10
Updated: 2016-01-19
Packaged: 2017-12-29 00:29:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 75,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/998700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_Linz/pseuds/KoKoa_B
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tabitha Lyght, the new Monitor of Metro Tower, faces her new responsibilities without the Martian Manhunter. DC/Marvel crossover. Some plots based on Justice League Unlimited episodes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Back to Basics

**Author's Note:**

> *Welcome back! Part 2 of the Lyght series!* *If you have found this story and haven't read Speed of Lyght, I highly suggest that you do so. Otherwise, you may found yourself a bit lost and confused! http://archiveofourown.org/works/998426/chapters/1976428* Read, comment, critique, enjoy! ^_^

It **would** be raining, she thought as she somberly rang the doorbell. She didn’t know what to do, who else to turn to; for a brief moment, she had wished that she was a drinking woman. However, as welcoming as a stiff drink sounded to her, she knew that drinking wasn’t the solution. It felt like an eternity to her when the door finally swung open.

“Tabs! You’re soaked! Get in here before you catch cold!” the professor eyed her strangely as she actually had to drag her young friend inside the house. She blocked out whatever Jamila was talking about and dragged herself not into the kitchen as she always did but in the living room. She didn’t care about her wet clothes as she plopped down on the couch and stared straight ahead. She hadn’t stopped crying since she had left Watchtower and had become numb, “… Tabs…? Oh… oh, no…” Jamila sat down beside her friend and immediately embraced her. She knew what was wrong; Tabitha had been too late.

She had tried to talk to her friend however sobs came out instead of words. The professor held in her own tears; someone had to be strong at this point! All she could do was attempt to soothe her.

“H-H-H-He’s… gone…” her lips quivered out. Jamila stopped rocking her friend and looked at her.

“What? Gone? What do you mean, ‘gone’? He… shit, he left the League?!” she had really hoped that was what the lightning woman had meant by “gone”; she didn’t want to think that the Martian Manhunter had actually passed away. Either way, it made no sense to her; why would he leave the Justice League? Was the Martian **that** upset with his former girlfriend?

Tabitha couldn’t understand much at that point. She knew that she may had overreacted when she found out that he had erased a memory, one that she fully admitted that she didn’t mind not remembering. She had been so upset with him that she didn’t even want to hear him out whenever he tried to explain himself; all she wanted to do was try to forget. But, she couldn’t; there was no denying that she not only couldn’t forget everything that the two had been through, she couldn’t get over him, overall. It was the woman who held her right then and there that made her come to her senses and she was more than willing to beg for his forgiveness.

But, he had left. Without even saying goodbye, she started to fume. Tabitha finally calmed down enough to take a deep breath and hug her best friend back.

“He… he didn’t even have… the gaddamn decency to tell me… goodbye…” more tears clouded her vision.

“Wait… what?! That… don’t sound like him at all… why wouldn’t he tell **you** goodbye?!” she really wanted to know. The professor had gotten to know the Martian over the years and knew his mannerisms; this was out of character for him.

“I don’t fucking know!” she angrily wiped at her tears, “A fucking leave of absence they call it…” she sniffed and shivered. Jamila simply held her tighter.

“You know what… it don’t matter. Nothing don’t matter, now. He made his decision… now, you gotta make yours. You a whole station to take care of now; you can’t dwell on this…”

“Doc…” she was surprised to hear her friend’s words. Jamila shook her head.

“You can sit here and cry your ass off all you want; I don’t care. But, the minute you step out that door… you can’t do it no more.”

“I don’t… understand. Why…”

“I know how you’re feeling right now. I’ve been through it. I had loved a man so much… I was willing to drop everything I ever planned just to be with him. And, we were happy; really happy: we had gotten engaged. He was military and so he went overseas for a while; came back and got stationed somewhere else. But, we made our plans, still. Then… he stopped calling me…”

“… J-Just like that…?”

“Yep. Oh, I was a nervous wreck; I thought something had happened to him! But, every time I called his job, they always told me that he was out or I had just missed him.”

“… What happened…?”

“Turned out that he married someone else. It took me so long to get over it… too long. I never wanted anyone to go through what I did… including you. I know you’re gonna miss him. But… you got other responsibilities to take care of. Just know this: if it was meant to be… he’ll be back.” she told her softly. Tabitha slowly nodded.

“Do you… do you really think he’ll come back?” she asked. Jamila thought about it and eventually sighed.

“I wish I could just say yeah to make you feel better. But… I don’t know. It’s outta our hands, now. It’s up to J’onn when or even if he’s coming back.” she explained. Tabitha slowly nodded once more. It was what she really needed to hear: honest advice. Anyone else would have probably told her everything that she wanted to hear; that J’onn would be back and everything would go back to normal. She knew that it would’ve made her feel much better but it would’ve also put her hopes up too high; if he didn’t return, it would be enough to ruin her.

Jamila tried to think of what else to tell her distraught friend. Maybe the breakup was too much for him and he needed to get away for a while, she reasoned. She tried to put herself in his situation: how would she have felt if she was dating a fellow professor for a few years and the two had broken up? Once she asked herself, it made her realize quickly that she would be itching for a transfer, just so she wouldn’t have to see his face, again. Then again, she didn’t like to guesstimate.

“ _What the **hell** , J’onn?! You could’ve at least told the girl goodbye; what were you thinking?! Aw, hell, it’s no use; you wouldn’t talk to her, you ain’t gonna tell me nothing!_” she absentmindedly sent him a message.

“ _………… I’m so sorry…_ ” his response surprised her. It was enough to make her perk up slightly, getting ready to ask him the questions that Tabitha desperately wanted to know the answers to. She quickly thought against it; why would he tell her if Tabitha was probably trying to ask him the same telepathically? Jamila sighed and kissed her friend on top of her head.

“So… what you gonna do?” she tried to break the silence. Tabitha slightly shook her head and took another deep breath.

“I think… I think I’m gonna sit here and cry a little more…”

* * *

She had finally passed out on the couch, curled up into a ball. The professor didn’t bother to wake her so that she could at least sleep in her old room; the only thing she did was give her a blanket and made sure that the children left her alone. As the drowsiness hit her, Tabitha made a mental promise to make it up to the triplets; she knew that they really wanted to spend time with her. Maybe she would finally take them up to Watchtower so that they could meet everyone, she thought.

She knew she was dreaming; there she was, guiding the three children on a tour of Metro Tower. The triplets were having the time of their lives as they finally met the superheroes they had idolized and heard about. Tabitha was glad that the League members were on their best behavior as well; even Bruce sat there and tolerated them for the most part! Seeing that Metro Tower was smaller than Watchtower, Tabitha let the three run off ahead of her, barely able to keep up with their pace! As they made their way back to the control room, she was startled to see who she thought was J’onn tending to the monitors. She studied his attire and gasped; she remembered with ease the dark blue hooded cloak.

“… T’ony?!” she looked into his brown eyes. He smiled as the triplets hugged him; they were too excited to tell the difference.

“It’s really shocking to be reminded that the Linz trio were once this little… and innocent.” he looked down at them.

“W-What… what are you doing here…?”

“Checking on you. And, I can’t give you any details of the future; just know that everything is fine.” he answered when she opened her mouth. Tabitha gave him a smirk.

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Won’t.”

“Figured!” she laughed lightly. She immediately hugged him, “I’m fine…”

“You’re lying…”

“And, I’m still your mother so watch that tone… and stay outta my head! Hey… guys? Why don’t you see if you can catch up with Mr. Wally.” she looked down at the triplets. Not saying a word, they raced out of the room, “So… is this a sign or something…?”

“I’m not obligated to say…”

“God, you’re so formal… just like your father! Wait… this **is** a sign! Why would you be here if he wasn’t coming back? Unless… this is some sort of emotional-based dream…”

“It could be.”

“You’re not gonna give me any straight answers… are you…?”

“No.” he gave her a smirk.

“God, I have the weirdest damn dreams!” she sighed out.

“I’m sorry, mom. Whether this is just an emotional dream or a sign for something different is something that you’ll have to figure out on your own. How’s Mr. Parker and Mr. Stark?”

“Oh! They’re… fine… I think. I haven’t spoken to them since… wow; it’s been a minute… P’s gonna kill me for not talking to him! Hold on… I think I get it, now. This ain’t about J’onn… this is about me…” she looked dead at her son, “You’re tryna tell me what to do next…” she realized. T’ony smiled at her.

“I’m pretty sure that they wouldn’t mind seeing you…” he gave out a hint. She nodded and smiled back at him, “… You’re about to wake up…” were the last words she heard him speak. The entire scene slowly dimmed away and everything turned pitch black. Soon, Tabitha felt that she was lying on the couch. She slowly opened her eyes and focused; the lights were still on: she was back in the Lindsey living room. The closing of the refrigerator door made her slowly sit up and stretch before leaving the couch. Jamila gave her a warm smile as she made her way into the kitchen.

“How’d you sleep?”

“… Pretty decent, actually.”

“Go on and head upstairs; get some more rest. Pretty sure Metro Tower will be fine for a few hours…”

“Actually… I need to be heading out. Gotta make a couple of trips…”

* * *

When Peter opened the door, his eyes widened as he immediately embraced Tabitha.

“Tabby Cat! I’ve been so worried about you! Don’t you **ever** leave me in the dark like that again!” he scolded as he let her in. she gave him a weak smile and an eye roll.

“I didn’t come all this way to get lectured! If it makes ya feel better, I’ve been kinda busy…”

“Too busy for your best pal?” he asked with a hint of a smile; he was just glad to see her. Tabitha was about to answer until Mary Jane appeared and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Good to see you again, Tabby!”

“Ooh… I see you’ve made yourself comfy…” she was about to say until she noticed the ring on her finger. Tabitha immediately grabbed her hand, examining the ring with wide eyes, “Son of a… bitch… when did this happen?!”

“A little before your… ordeal. Speaking of…”

“Ah! Only happy feelings, now! Congrats!” she took the opportunity to hug the couple, “When’s the wedding and I **know** I’m invited!”

“Of course, you are! You’re a bridesmaid so…” Mary Jane announced as the three sat down in the living room.

“Wait… say what, now?!” Tabitha gawked at her.

“How could I get married to Peter and not have you a part of it?” the redhead laughed, “Don’t tell me you won’t do it!”

“N-No! Aw, MJ… I’d be honored!”

The two crime fighters were on top of the Daily Bugle building, looking out into the brightly lit city. Peter put his mask on and looked over at Tabitha.

“Just like old times, huh…?”

“Yeah…” she sighed happily as she looked down at her mask. Constantly being on Watchtower, she had little opportunity to wear the black latex cover; it had been a while, she realized. Peter grabbed her hand before she could put it on.

“You’ve been away for so long; I think it’s safe to go without it…”

“I’m a Justice League member, P…”

“Doesn’t change the fact that no one will notice you. Who are you keeping a secret from, now?” he asked. She smirked at him.

“Thanks for the boost in my popularity! You know… someone could ask you the same thing! I guess… since Tee told the whole world…”

“Don’t compare yourself to him; he’s a pompous ass…”

“… In an iron suit; I’ve heard it way too many times!” a familiar voice was heard from behind the two. Tabitha swung around and smiled at the red and gold suit that hovered above them. Tony landed on the rooftop, his mask opening up as Tabitha ran and hugged him.

“Tee!”

“Dawling! Let’s see… I recall that someone owed me a call back…” he eyed her.

“My bad! Things kinda went to hell and back after that; I’ll tell ya about it later. Hey; did you know Spider-Man’s getting hitched?” she tried to change the subject. Tony just looked at Peter and shrugged.

“Eh… sounds like something he’d do… we’re invited, of course…”

“Tabby’s a bridesmaid. You… I guess we can send you an invitation…”

“So, that means J’onn boy’s a groomsman?”

“Hey… I didn’t think about that! This is going to be a weird wedding party…”

“Um… I don’t think… he’ll be there…” Tabitha added lowly.

“What; he doesn’t do weddings? What kind of heartless Martian is he?” Tony asked.

“I… I don’t know where he is.” she turned away from them; it pained her to think about it all over again. Had Peter not had his mask on, she would be pretty sure that he was giving her the same surprised look that Tony was.

“What do you mean? Is he missing in action or…”

“He left. And, I don’t wanna talk about it…” she tried.

“Dawling… you two… broke up…?” Tony approached and hugged her tightly, “Oh… I’m so sorry…” he almost whispered. For some reason, it was enough to upset her as she pushed him away.

“And, I don’t need to be fucking babied about it! He chose to leave, he didn’t die! I’m just fine! I’m Monitor of Metro Tower now so… I ain’t got time to think about shit like that!”

“Dawling… you can’t just brush this off like that. I’ve seen how you two were with each other, remember? For you to just treat this like… like you lost five bucks isn’t healthy…”

“And, you’re an expert in this because…” she eyed Tony. He slightly sighed, “I don’t need any damn advice from someone who chases anything in a skirt! I did all the crying I plan on doing over him on doc’s couch; I ain’t crying no more! I done; I’m over it: I’m over **him**! The only thing I need to do is concentrate on my responsibilities! And… just because P found someone to spend the rest of his life with doesn’t mean I’m gonna sit here and sulk all because I ain’t got no one now!! We weren’t getting married; hell, he never told anyone about us in the first fucking place!! And, why are my feet fucking wet?!” she complained. Tabitha looked down and saw that there was a puddle growing underneath her feet, “Oh, what in the fuck is this shit?!” she asked when the puddle started to quickly take form. She was taken aback when it formed into a human male figure. She glanced over at Peter, “Uh… Spidey… you **really** need to check those spider senses of yours…”

“Hydro-Man…” it seemed as though he glared at the watery blob that now formed into a man. He ignored Tabitha and Tony as he stared at Peter with piercing blue eyes.

“How lucky am I? I’ve been looking for you for a long time, spider freak!” he almost growled. Peter shrugged.

“ **I’m** the freak? Look in the mirror, pal!” he retaliated. The blond man growled and immediately threw a blast of water towards the webbed crusader, catching him off guard. As he was knocked to the ground, Tony immediately tried to hit Hydro-Man from behind with a proton blast. He immediately saw the problem as the man turned back into water; the blast went through him and almost hit Tabitha. She did a Lightning Cloud out of the way and threw a stream of lightning the man’s way, only for him to evade it quickly. Peter finally stood up and looked at Hydro-Man, upset at the cheap shot. He shot webbing from each hand towards the nearby buildings and used it to slingshot himself towards the villain, hitting him full force in the face. He was glad that the man had been distracted at how quickly Tabitha had moved!

The blow wasn’t enough to keep him down; it only angered him as he shouted his rage towards Peter. He called forth all the surrounding water in the area, caging Peter in the menacing liquid. Tabitha gasped as she saw what his plan was; he was going to drown her friend. Tony tried for another attack however Hydro-Man was ready for him yet again, making his body turn into liquid. When he reformed back into human, the lightning woman saw her chance for an attack. She did a Lightning Cloud and landed right behind the man, charging up with all of her might.

“You really picked the wrong night to piss me off…” she warned him and released all of her energy in his back. Once she did, she realized that she was the only one who could’ve truly stopped the blond man; lightning and water were a deadly combination. She knew that she had released way too much lightning as she watched him die, an uneasy feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. The last time she had killed someone, she was suffering from blind rage and therefore had no memory of it. However, the image of what laid at her feet was enough to make her turn away; the electricity was enough to drain away the man’s water powers, leaving him in a very charred human form. When the smell of burnt flesh entered her nostrils, Tabitha doubled over and vomited out the uneasiness that had quickly climbed from her stomach to her throat. Peter and Tony looked over at her with concern.

“Tabby…?” Peter approached her. He pulled her over to the ledge of the building, making her sit on the ground.

“Are you… okay?” Tony asked. She took a deep breath, wiping her mouth and nodded.

“I’m good…”

“What was that all about?”

“… That was… disgusting. I’ve…”

“… You’ve never been conscious to see when you killed someone…” Tony figured out. She could only nod.

“Let’s… let’s get the hell outta here…” she finally was stable enough to walk. Peter couldn’t help but to wonder about the mental state of his friend. He knew that she when she succumbed to her rage, she had become blind and had no memory of when it happened. He never imagined that it would bother her so much to see a dead body, one that was caused by her hands. He understood if it had disgusted her; it didn’t leave a good feeling in his soul to see someone killed as well. However, this was different; this made her sick to her stomach, literally. Maybe she really needed to talk about how she felt about everything; her battle with her blind rage… her recent breakup. She needed someone to tell her that it was something that she really needed. 


	2. A Fresh Start

“Tabitha… a word with you?” John approached her at her new control station. It had been two months since she was appointed Monitor of Metro Tower and she was glad that it wasn’t as complicated as she thought it would be. She had help from two people; Clark and the new Monitor of Watchtower, Mr. Terrific however it was rare that she asked for assistance. Clark and the other founding members showed no disdain towards her decisions so Tabitha figured that she was doing a good job. She was also glad that Metro Tower was almost half the size of Watchtower; it allowed for her to switch from assigning missions to making upgrades.

What surprised her wasn’t the formality of the Green Lantern’s tone; she knew that he was a former Marine and therefore his demeanor was embedded into him. It was the fact that he was in Metro Tower to begin with; he was hardly ever there. She turned and slightly smiled at him regardless.

“Sure. What’s up?” she asked. When he sighed and gently pulled her away from the console, it made her worry; something was wrong for him not to come out and say anything. She waited for him to speak however he showed her a newspaper instead, the Daily Bugle to be exact. She was confused at the gesture until she noticed who was on the front page: herself and Peter. As quickly as she had settled into her promotion, Tabitha was also moonlighting alongside Peter in New York. She didn’t do it often however she couldn’t hide the thrill she received from being back in crime fighting action; she told herself that she wouldn’t abuse her power as Monitor and constantly assign herself to missions.

“Care to explain this?” he looked at her. She shrugged, still slightly confused at how John was trying to treat the matter.

“Nothing really to explain. Is there a story…?” she grabbed the paper and flipped it open.

“This is no time to be a smart ass! Are you with another group, now?”

“W-What? No! I just help P out every now and then; what the hell is wrong with that?”

“Plenty… especially seeing that you’re not hiding your face, anymore.”

“Huh; this coming from someone who don’t hide his! You’re making something outta nothing. Have I slacked off here in Metro Tower?”

“That’s not the point. Just be glad Clark hasn’t seen this…”

“What the hell does Clark gotta do with this?! Damn; you make it sound like I teamed up with Luthor or some shit! This is my friend we’re talking about…”

“Who’s a superhero in another faction…”

“Actually, he works alone; well, with me. As does Tee…”

“We don’t go outside of the Justice League, Tabitha.”

“Really? Well… last time I checked, I’m grown so I can help whoever the hell I please!” she retaliated. John simply looked at her.

“You really want to do things your way? Fine. But so you know; you make that decision… and you step down as Monitor.”

“… What?! First off, you don’t get to boss me around! I was named Monitor for a reason!” she warned him.

“Let me remind you that I’m a founding member… and you’re not. And… the last time **I** checked… you’re not J’onn…” his green eyes glared at her. Her jaw twitched at the mention of the Martian’s name and she found herself glaring back. Her hands automatically clenched into fists and she was mere seconds from charging up, attacking him. John raised an eyebrow at her, not flinching, “You’re going to strike me, now?” it truly surprised him. Once again, too many emotions flooded her; it really angered her that the Green Lantern was standing there arguing with her over something so petty, throwing his weight around. The mere mention of J’onn’s name saddened her but the fact that John even tried to compare her to him infuriated her. Of course she knew she wasn’t J’onn; she was nowhere even close so she definitely didn’t need anyone to tell her that, let alone even make her think about him when she was trying not to. One of the main reasons why she volunteered her services to Peter was to keep herself from thinking about the absent Martian; she was a bit pleased that it seemed to work.

However, as she tried to calm down she realized that she was actually glad that he made her think about J’onn; it immediately brought back the memories of when they had first laid eyes on each other… as well as the reason for the meeting. How long had it been since she had felt that sensation, the one that happened right before she blacked out and yielded to her rage? Not since her last confrontation with Lex Luthor, she realized. That was a villain… but John wasn’t. Tabitha sadly grasped the fact that she was on the verge of losing control… and was about to attack an actual Justice League member. She closed her eyes, stretched her fingers out and sighed.

“No. I’m not gonna attack you. And… you’re right; I ain’t J’onn. I don’t agree with you so if I have to… I’m gonna take this up with Clark, myself.” she finally calmed down. John surprised her by gently grabbing her shoulders and sighing.

“I know that you miss him; we all do. And maybe I went over the line by insinuating that you were trying to copy him, or even take his place. I just know how close you two were. You were his prodigy… well… maybe more than that.” his words made her slightly anxious; did he know about the two, “Almost like his daughter…” his next words surprised her. A… daughter?! Was that how everyone saw them? She realized that the professor had been right; the whole League were idiots! Her eyes moistened at the realization of another fact: she and J’onn were really close and deep down, despite the tough act she was trying to pull, she did miss him… a lot.

Tabitha tore away from him and left the room as quickly as she could before he could see that she was on the verge of crying. No, she tried to scold herself; she wasn’t going to cry anymore! The more she tried to hold in her tears, however, the more they fought to free themselves. By the time she reached the door to the other room, she had bumped into Shayera; there was no hiding the single tear that ran down her cheek. The only thing she could do was hold in her sobs and rush out of the room, leaving a confused John standing in the middle of the room. Shayera had seen the tear and tried to stop her but the woman was already halfway down the hall. She swung around and looked at John.

“What happened? What did you do?!” she accused. He slowly shook his head.

“I… we were only talking…”

“What did you say to her?!”

“… It was only a dispute. She calmed down and then I mentioned how we all missed J’onn. And the fact that he was her mentor…” he tried to explain, still trying to figure out what made her so upset. Shayera looked back at where Tabitha fled to and her heart went out to the lightning woman.

“Oh, no…” she sighed. She had known about their relationship for a while and had always wondered why no one else had caught on or even seen the two sneak kisses when they thought no one else was looking. She had been taken by total surprise at the Martian’s announcement of his leave of absence but was even just as surprised as to why Tabitha was the only member not present at his farewell. Shayera had witnessed how odd they were treating each other beforehand but didn’t put two and two together until the farewell on Watchtower; the two had broken up.

She shook her head and looked back at John; the lightning woman was probably running on autopilot for the past two months: Green Lantern’s words were probably the last straw and Tabitha had finally broken down.

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

“J’onn was more than just her mentor… the two were dating…” she decided to confess. It didn’t mean anything now that they weren’t together; she saw no harm in at least telling John. He carefully took in what she said and smirked a little.

“This is no time for jokes!”

“I’m being serious! Was I the only one who even noticed? It never occurred to you the **real** reason why they were around each other so much? It was a dead giveaway to me! He gave her Oreos!”

“… It was her birthday…”

“Okay… once again… he gave her… **Oreos**! A whole package! When was the last time he shared Oreos with any of us…?” she asked. John thought about her question.

“… Never.” he continued to think about the possibility. The longer he thought about it… the more it started to make sense. The lightning woman, for as long as he could remember, was always restricted as far as going on missions. In the beginning, it seemed reasonable; she was a new recruit, a fairly new Metahuman for that matter. However, as time went by, the ordeal was quite puzzling to him. It had gotten to a point where John actually thought that the Martian didn’t like the human!

His green eyes suddenly widened as he remembered the secret time-traveling mission that himself, Diana, Bruce and Tabitha were involved in. going into the future, he had seen his son… and Tabitha’s. A spitting image of J’onn with the exception of brown eyes. Her act of disbelief he felt was genuine; she really was shocked at the fact she had a son. Why didn’t he think that there really **was** something between the two back then, even after she denied it? John had refused to believe that fate could be changed in particular cases; there was a reason why the two had a chance to see their future sons. Bruce may had prevented David Clinton from taking over in the future but there was serious doubt that his actions also prevented the birth of the two future Justice League members.

“What?” Shayera noticed that his eyes had widened.

“… N-Nothing…”

“No, tell me. You finally realized it, didn’t you?”

“I did. But…” he didn’t know if he wanted to tell her about the trip and what he knew about the future. John sighed; even if he told her, he still believed that it wouldn’t make a difference in their relationship, “Tabitha, Bruce, Diana and I were warped into the future a while back. We… we saw her son… their son…” the hawk woman’s eyes widened in pure surprise, “… And ours…” he continued. Her expression changed quickly, from surprise to slight disappointment.

“… What…? W-Why would you tell me something like that…?”

“… I felt that it’s something that you needed to know…”

“No. Maybe about Tabitha’s son but… no. This is dangerous territory. Whatever you have to say about… that… keep to yourself. It doesn’t change anything…”

* * *

She angrily wiped at her tears and tried to calm down, taking deep breaths. Foolish; she felt foolish for breaking down like that, especially by the mention of his name.

“Hey… are you okay?” Clark actually scared her. She turned and looked at him, slowly shaking her head.

“I… I don’t know.” she at least admitted that. She knew that she couldn’t do her job if it was going to constantly remind her and others of the one who had trained her in the first place. She quickly made up her mind; this was something that needed to be done, “Clark… I need to resign as Monitor…”

“What? Why?”

“I… I don’t feel confident enough to do my job…” she turned away. She knew that the Kryptonian didn’t have the mind reading abilities the Martian had; however, she didn’t want her eyes to tell on her. He gave her a curious look.

“Are you sure that’s the truth?” he asked. He was there when she became temporary Monitor as well as when she gave her report in front of the President months prior; she had done a fine job keeping Watchtower under control alongside Supergirl.

“… It wasn’t like I was keeping it from you but… I’ve been helping P fight crime. Figured I can’t do that **and** be Monitor… right…?” she decided to tell part of the truth. She was caught off guard when he lightly chuckled.

“I know. And, from what I read, you’ve been doing a great job at it. You know… a lot of us do the same thing. Our lives don’t evolve around missions only. Bruce fights crime in Gotham, I do it here… separate from the Justice League. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as you’re doing what’s right; whoever told you differently is very wrong!”

“I… I just don’t wanna complicate things…”

“Do you feel like you’re complicating things?”

“… No…” she halfway lied. She had no problem going back and forth between her Monitor duties, helping Peter out and doing upgrades for both stations; it was the absence of the Martian that laid heavy on her heart. She admitted that he made everything seem so simple… and she definitely was no J’onn J’onzz!

“Well, you shouldn’t worry about it, then! I am absolutely positive that J’onn trained you to the best of his ability… and you’re doing an excellent job, so far. Do you remember that press conference we held after we defeated Luthor and Brainiac?” he looked at her. She gave him a puzzled look but nodded, “Do you remember how you and the others felt about us trying to disband the League? No one wanted to see us just… give up. The feeling is mutual right now. If you truly feel that you’re not capable of doing your job then, by all means, step down. If you think that you’re being overwhelmed, then downsize your workload. But, don’t quit just because one or two people don’t agree with what you’re doing…” he finished explaining. He gave her shoulder a quick squeeze, “So, think about that… and then come back to me about wanting to resign.” he said, lightly smiling at her. She quietly nodded and returned the smile.

“I guess… I guess I just needed to vent a little. I ain’t quitting! Thanks, Clark…”

“Anytime. Oh, one more thing; are you sure you’re okay exposing your face like that? You know, sometimes a superhero’s secret identity is sacred… and needed…” he tried. She shook her head.

“The one thing that P made me realize; I’d been away for so long, no one knows who I am! I got no one to hide from no more.”

“I don’t know; I’d rethink the not wearing the mask situation… but that’s just me. I’ll talk to you later, Tabitha.” he nodded and walked away. Before she could go back to her station, Shayera quickly approached her.

“H-Hey…”

“First… I want to know more about your son and then… tell me about mine…”[1]

* * *

She felt better after talking to Clark about her moonlighting and was actually relieved to finally be able to talk to someone about her son. It saddened her slightly; now that J’onn was gone, Tabitha knew that the possibility of her having his children were slim to none. She tried not to think about that and tried to think about how to improve her mentality when she was fighting crime. Killing Hydro-Man had made her slightly afraid of her own lightning ability… as well as her mind. She knew that she didn’t mean to kill him but the combination of her lightning and his water body was fated to cause his death. A part of her knew this… and opted to use her lightning ability anyway. It was that little part that frightened her, especially after she continued to fight along with Peter and ended up causing more serious injuries to the villains… and that was her trying to tone down her powers. She knew that she would have to relearn how to control herself before she let the rage consume her yet again.

When her mediation methods weren’t working, she turned to the one person she could think of: Ted. She figured that he owed her more training sessions as it was and the two picked up where they left off; the former boxer was thrilled to train with her on an almost daily basis. To her surprise, he even started to teach her how to box and he was just as happy to see that she enjoyed learning as much as he enjoyed teaching the sport. The training was working; Tabitha was starting to rely more on her other Metahuman abilities than her main one.

She was in the Metro Tower gym, tying her shoe, awaiting for Ted to show up. She knew that the two weren’t the only ones who trained, however she perked up when she felt someone come in the room. What made her feign that she was ignoring the feeling was the fact that they didn’t make a sound; whoever came in was trying to pull a sneak attack: anyone else would’ve already greeted her. She tried to keep her smile to herself; she knew that it was Ted testing out her training. He probably thought that she would automatically use her lightning, she thought; she knew that the minute she released any type of energy, he would scold her for doing so. Tabitha had to admit that it was the perfect beginning to a training session; she continued to pretend to ignore the extra presence in the room. As soon as she felt a hand on her shoulder, she immediately caught him in the stomach with her elbow. She turned and did a backwards sweep, connecting hard on his ankle and was about to smile at her deed until she saw who she had attacked.

“Oh, shit… Bruce!” was all she could say as she watched him slightly writhe on the ground in obvious pain. She knelt down beside him, “Shit, shit, shit; sorry! Thought you were Ted!”

“This is how you greet him?!” he yelled out in pain. His ankle throbbed in agony and he groaned out in half anger, half pain, “I think you broke it…” he hissed out. She clasped her hands around her mouth and stared at his ankle, which was rapidly swelling up.

“Shut up; it ain’t broke! I barely touched it…” she went to touch his ankle. She quickly retracted her hand when he bit his lip and hissed out loudly, “Fuck; I didn’t mean to hurt you! What the hell were you doing tryna sneak up on me in the first damn place?!”

“Sure… get mad at **me** for something **you** did!” he grunted out. She sighed and tried to help him sit up, “And, I wasn’t sneaking up on you; you weren’t paying attention…”

“Hmm; started without me, eh?” Ted’s voice rang out before Tabitha could respond. When he noticed that Bruce was in obvious pain, he quickly went over to the two, “What happened?”

“She attacked me…”

“ **What?!** I…”

“You attacked Bruce?” Ted stared wide-eyed at the woman.

“What; someone attacked Bruce?” Diana had joined the three inside the room. Tabitha slightly groaned as other Justice League members started to enter and immediately looked at the three on the ground. Diana gasped slightly at the scene and immediately helped Ted with Bruce. She looked at Tabitha with a confused expression, “Why… would you attack Bruce?”

“Whoa; looks like she did a number on your ankle, too…” Ted noticed that the caped crusader did not put any weight on his right ankle.

“Wow… she broke his ankle…?” someone from the small crowd asked. It was enough for her to throw her hands up in frustration.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake; I didn’t mean to!! I thought he was Ted; he snuck up on me!!” she followed the three out of the room. Ted looked back at her, raising his eyebrows.

“So… you were gonna break **my** ankle?!” he asked. Defeated, she threw her head down and let out a heavy sigh.

“Fuck…”

* * *

She had grown tired of pacing back and forth in the control room and finally made her way to the infirmary. She was saluted immediately by one of the guards and escorted into one of the rooms. Bruce looked up from his bed and smirked at the worried look on his friend’s face; he knew that she had injured him on accident. She looked him over and bit the side of her lip as her eyes stayed on the cast over his ankle.

“Thank you… for the flowers…” he decided to break the ice, tilting his head towards the colorful bouquet on the table. She slightly shrugged and sat down in the chair beside him.

“I, um… okay; it’s my fault, alright?” she looked at him.

“I’m not mad at you. Well… maybe a little…” he gave her a sly look. He knew that she would’ve laughed however it was obvious that she was truly worried about how he felt about the injury, “You know that you used all of your force for that one little move… right?” it had bothered him for the past couple of days. He knew that she was powerful but she usually suppressed her strength whenever she sparred with someone. He cringed slightly remembering the immediate pain he felt when her foot connected with his ankle. His observation only made her sigh and look down at her feet.

“… I didn’t mean to…”

“I’m just glad that it was me instead of Ted; not to give him any credit but… you would’ve broken his whole leg!” he tried again to lighten the mood.

“I’m… I’m so sorry…” her lips quivered; she was definitely on the verge of crying and he took notice instantly. Bruce slowly got out of the bed and hobbled over to the chair beside her. She was taken by complete surprise when he suddenly grabbed her and made her hug him.

He knew that Tabitha was hurting still over the departure of J’onn; he wondered how long she would pretend that his absence didn’t bother her. He knew her; he had seen how devastated she was when she had broken up with the former Gotham detective, Ethan: what she was experiencing at the moment was probably eating her alive. Regardless of the fact, he knew that something else was bothering her.

“What’s really wrong with you…” he quietly asked. As much as she tried to fight it, her body trembled from keeping everything bottled up. He sighed as she said nothing still and held her tighter. After the first set of tears started to gush out, Tabitha finally hugged him back and sobbed a little.

What really **was** wrong with her? She admitted that she missed J’onn and would’ve felt a bit better had he stayed. As long as he was gone, she would always wonder if she was the actual reason why he left. Who was she kidding, she was; it was her idea for the break in the relationship. However, in the back of her mind, it scared her to think that she missed him so much, her once dormant rage was slowly trying to reappear.

She finally looked up at Bruce, not bothering to wipe her tears away. What was she supposed to tell him? She didn’t want to let him know about herself and J’onn; it was bad enough that Shayera had told John!

“I… I think my rage is tryna come back…” she told half the truth. Bruce simply sighed and smirked at her.

“Are you sure that’s the only thing bothering you?” he simply asked. She gave him a curious look.

“I don’t under…”

“Stop it, already; I knew about you two…” he confessed, looking deeply into her whiskey brown eyes. He watched as her pupils widened for a split second before she looked away.

“T-There’s nothing bottled up no more…”

“… That’s probably the reason why your rage is trying to come back. Maybe if you just talk and admit that…” he was stopped short when she suddenly jumped out of her seat and faced the door.

“Ain’t nothing to admit! He left; end of story! What am I supposed to say; that I’m pissed off that he left without saying a word?! That he told everyone **but** me bye?! That fighting was the only thing that kept my mind off of him and I can’t even do **THAT** right no more?!?! That…” the tears wouldn’t stop flowing from her eyes. She finally turned to him, “That… no matter what type of mind tricks he did to me… I still miss him…” her voice was shaky. She covered her mouth to keep the sobs from escaping yet again. Bruce got up and put his hands gently on her shoulders. She turned and buried her head in his chest, “I miss him so much, Bruce!! Why couldn’t he had waited a day; just one fucking day?! Why did he have to leave?!?!” her cries were muffled. He could do nothing but hug her back as she started to sob.

“Oh, Tabitha… I wish I had the answer to that. No one but J’onn knows that answer… well… maybe Diana does…” it suddenly dawned on him. Tabitha tried to stop herself from sobbing as she looked at him.

“W-W-W-Wait… what…” she eyed him. He simply looked at her; she didn’t know **anything** , he realized. It was no wonder she was devastated.

“It was… Diana’s idea for him to take a vacation. She didn’t know…” he quickly added when she let go of him completely, “She still doesn’t know…” he had hoped it was enough to calm her down; the last thing he needed was for her rage to appear, making her storm out in order to track down Diana.

She was in complete shock; the only thing that registered in her brain was that… it was Diana’s idea for him to leave. Why would she do something like that to me, Tabitha fumed. It wasn’t until she asked herself that question that she realized what else Bruce had said: she didn’t know. Diana was clueless about their relationship; she didn’t think that her suggestion would upset anyone.

“… W-What am I supposed to do now…?” she weakly asked.

“… You move on. You continue doing your job as Monitor. You continue to fight crime with Spider-Man. You continue with life… period.”

“You make it sound so easy…”

“I know it won’t be. It won’t happen overnight, I guarantee that. You will hurt, maybe for a long time. But life will not stop because you’re heartbroken.” he was glad that she had stopped sobbing and wiped the tears away from her face. He realized that this was the first time he had ever seen her so broken down… and he didn’t like it one bit. He couldn’t help that his feelings for her never left and he was actually a bit glad that he was there when she needed someone the most. It made him think of the one thing he really wanted the most, “I know one thing that might make it easier on you…” he slightly smirk.

“Yeah? What?” she sniffed; she was so glad that Bruce was her friend, one that simply gave her his shoulder to cry on.

“… Move back to Gotham…”

“… What…?”

“Well… seeing that you attacked me…”

“No; you snuck up on me! How else was I gonna defend myself against a damn… bat ninja?!” her outburst made him actually laugh.

“Someone needs to take care of Gotham while Batman is out of commission…” he continued. She widened her eyes at him.

“First, you guys make me Monitor; now you wanna make me Batman… uh… Bat… lady…”

“You’re not going to replace Batman! Just come back as Nikki.”

“You want me to look over Gotham by myself?!”

“No… oh; you’ve been in your own little world these past few months: I have a couple of sidekicks, now; they can help…” he explained. She calmed down long enough to slowly nod.

“Wait…” she closed her eyes, remembering when she first met Batman, “I thought you said you didn’t need no sidekicks?”

“I found it funny that they shared one thing in common with you: they forced themselves on me…” he slightly smiled. She laughed a little.

“Huh… sounds like you **did** get ganged up on! Wow… so, Bruce Wayne **is** a softie!”

“There was no doubt that he was… it just bothers Batman…”

* * *

[1]Paraphrased from Justice League Unlimited episode, “Ancient History” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I really meant to post this in the first book of the series but... although there will be a few plots based on Justice League Unlimited, they won't be in the same order of appearance or even in full details at times. This one in particular, where I just grabbed one quote from an entire episode! Shayera actually goes to Bruce and asks about her son.*


	3. Kiss from a Rose

Six weeks at the most, she thought as she and Alfred watched Bruce ease himself in front of the Batcomputer. Both had offered their assistance however both were adamantly refused. She sighed a little as she leaned on the control panel.

“I’ll bring you some lunch, Master Bruce…”

“Oh!” Tabitha perked up and looked at the butler, “I can help you…” she tried. Alfred kindly shook his head.

“No need; I have a feeling that Master Bruce would enjoy your company more.” he smiled and immediately left. She could do nothing but glance at her feet, thinking of what she could do to make her friend feel better.

“… When did you find out about… us...?” she couldn’t think of anything else to talk about, Besides, it was something that had been on her mind since he confessed that he knew about the relationship. Tabitha also realized that the two hadn’t spoken to each other as much as they used to. She knew that dealing with the recent freak occurrences could be to blame, as well as her permanently staying in space. However, now that she was back in Gotham, she had looked forward to going back to that homey diner they used to frequent.

It slightly pained him to remember the exact day for more than one reason. Everyone was summoned for a huge, emergency mission with the exception of Tabitha; J’onn had used one of his abilities to make her sleep through the alarm. He didn’t like the fact that the Martian resorted to doing something like that to a Justice League member, especially to someone who had great potential in the field. Another reason it pained him was because he was about to confess how he felt about her… that was until he witnessed their possible first kiss.

He gave her a slight smile, regardless and waited for her to look at him.

“Do you remember the big mission that everyone went on?” he simply asked. She huffed at first, rolling her eyes. Of course she remembered it; “upset” was an understatement as far as how she had felt once she realized what J’onn had done.

Bruce’s smile turned into a light laugh as he watched her expression quickly go from annoyed to embarrassed.

“O-Oh… you knew from the **very** beginning. You… saw…”

“I did…” he didn’t know whether he was relieved or hurt to know that it **was** their first kiss he witnessed.

“… How did you feel about us…?” she wanted to know. Tabitha knew that Shayera thought nothing of it; she felt that it was “cute” that the two were together. Although they hadn’t spoken in a while, she still considered Bruce her good friend; she wanted to know his intake on the whole situation.

The question shocked him as he tried to find the words to say. Did he want to tell her the truth; that he didn’t like the two being with each other? Telling her that would mean he would have to tell her **why** he didn’t like it; he would had rather it been him and her, not her and the Martian!

Bruce was glad that someone entering the Batcave stopped him from answering. The two watched as a boy and a girl approached them, both looking no older than eighteen. Tabitha smiled at the fact that both had the same shade of blue eyes, almost as if they were related. However, the boy had jet black short cropped hair while the girl had fiery red, long hair. The two smiled at Tabitha as Bruce looked at them.

“Huh; either you’re giving free tours of the Batcave or they must be the two sidekicks!” she smirked back at the two. The girl’s smile widened as the boy stuck his hand out.

“Dick Grayson but… between me and you… I prefer Robin…” the boy introduced himself. She shook his hand and looked at the girl.

“You’re Tabitha Lyght…” the girl introduced for Tabitha, “Supply clerk in the Army, Justice League member for the past four years, current Monitor of Metro Tower.” It seemed as though she was excited to meet the lightning woman. Tabitha gave her a surprised look as Bruce looked at the two women.

“She’s an information specialist. Plus… one of the best hackers you’ll ever run into…”

“Barbara Gordon.” she finally introduced herself. Tabitha reluctantly shook her hand.

“A good thing you’re on our side, then…”

The four talked mainly about the reason why Tabitha was there. It was intriguing to her that Barbara not only knew a lot about her but she was an actual fan; she had become very excited to learn that they would be partnering up with a “real live super heroine”. Tabitha on the other hand, was surprised to not only find out that the two were just as skilled as Bruce but they both were barely seventeen.

A lot of things had changed since Tabitha lived in Gotham. There was a new police commissioner for one; James Gordon… Barbara’s father (she wondered if her father knew that she was a vigilante… and how that conversation would go when he would find out…). The new commissioner had stopped the Batman hunt immediately, encouraging the city to embrace him with open arms as a key factor of the police force. He even had a “Bat Light” installed, a signal that shone bright in the sky, indicating that the city needed his help.

Tabitha also learned that Bruce had become a father, adopting Robin. While she had been dealing with her own life, Bruce had taken the young boy in when he lost his parents; the Graysons were an acrobatic act and the parents were killed when a mobster ordered the tampering of the safety net. Once she was told the story, Tabitha knew that the two were well matched for each other; Bruce not only took Robin in but started training him vigorously.

Barbara had always been fascinated with the world of super heroism; she was actually proud living in a city that had its own protector, one who was also a prominent member of the Justice League! When she discovered the enigma that was Nikki Strykher, Barbara had to admit that she was a little jealous but even more fascinated; the white-haired woman had some sick moves and even sicker powers… and was Batman’s sidekick! She used her communication and hacking skills to find out everything she could about Ms. Strykher… and was very surprised at her findings! To say that she was thrilled to finally work with Tabitha was quite an understatement!

Tabitha was glad that Batman explained to the commissioner about his absence, slightly; the only explanation given was that Robin, Batgirl and Nikki would be the ones answering the Bat Signal for the next few weeks! The commissioner was fully aware of the three; he had seen that the two teens were under the caped crusader’s tutelage. As far as the lightning woman, he definitely had no problem with someone who even Joker was slightly afraid of!

Bruce looked at the three as they gathered in the Batcave; the Bat Signal was seen yet again. There were two things that he hated to admit; one was that he was actually flattered that Barbara designed her outfit after his: an all-black latex suit with yellow jagged gloves and yellow high heel boots. The bat symbol in between her breasts was yellow and her utility belt was quite smaller. Barbara’s cape was two toned; black on the outside and yellow on the inside: it flowed just as long as Bruce’s. Her mask was exactly like his, covering everything except her mouth and jaw however she left room in the back to let her crimson hair flow freely.

The other thing the he hated to admit: Tabitha looked great in her simple black synthetic outfit. He wondered why he never realized the fact, as well as there wasn’t much detail to her outfit; it simply hugged her curves. The all black also made her snow-white hair stand out even more; the effect in its entirety looked as though it was meant to mesmerize anyone who came across her.

Tabitha slightly cocked her head to the side to examine Robin. The boy was more toned than she realized, wearing a red vest with green short sleeves that stopped a couple of inches above his elbows. A yellow “R” was seen across his left breast and his green gloves had a medium length to them. It was his green tights (and she really hated referring to them as “tights” but they weren’t what she would’ve considered pants, either) that showed off the true tone in his legs. Acrobat, Tabitha silently reminded herself. His black utility belt had a gold buckle and his cape was the same two tone color as Barbara’s but fell slightly above his knees. He had on a simple black mask around his eyes and it amazed Tabitha at how different he looked.

Her attention went to Barbara, who simply gazed at her hair as she approached the lightning woman. Tabitha grabbed a strand and slightly smiled.

“Still kinda shocks me, too…” she smiled. Without warning, Barbara grabbed a strand and caressed it.

“Oh… it’s soft…” she was slightly amused; she had expected for it to be coarse, especially knowing what it went through to become stripped. Tabitha laughed.

“Wha… black folks can’t have soft hair or something?!” she continued to laugh as Barbara blushed. Bruce widened his eyes at Tabitha.

“Wait… you’re black?!” he asked; the comment made her throw her head back in laughter.

“Oh; smart… **ass**!” she continued to laugh. Bruce joined her in laughter as he approached her.

“Okay; all joking aside… I want to give you something.” he gave her what looked like a black mask. She looked at him.

“A new mask…?”

“I know that you feel that you have nothing to hide anymore. Unfortunately, that can’t be said for here. Things have changed since you’ve been gone.”

“Which is a good thing… right?” she tried. Bruce gave her a smirk and shook his head slowly.

“I just want you to be safe…” he decided to at least admit that. Tabitha studied the black mask and nodded. However, Barbara noticed that she had a confused look on her face and smiled a little.

“Let me help you.” she immediately volunteered. She slowly smoothed the jagged mask onto Tabitha’s face, stood back and admired how it put more emphasis on her hair. The mask formed on her face in a shape of a large bat, a somewhat modified outline of Bruce’s bat symbol; the bottom of the wings dipped down parallel to her bottom lip. Tabitha put her hands on her hips, posed and winked at Barbara.

“Not bad, eh?”

“Hmm… just missing a cape…” Bruce mentioned. Tabitha shook her head.

“Nuh uh! By the way you two looking at me, I’m guessing this is a bat mask so ain’t that bad enough?" she laughed, “What’s up with superheroes and capes?!”

“Are you kidding me? Capes are bad assed!” Robin contributed.

“Maybe you could do a short one…?” Barbara tried.

“I don’t do capes!”

“Alright, you three; get going!” Bruce shook his head and laughed. Tabitha and Robin headed out as Bruce quickly grabbed Barbara’s arm, “Oh, just to warn you… she doesn’t swing that way…” he half whispered, leaving the young woman blushing a slight red as she went to join the others.

* * *

She took in the night air and was almost surprised at the difference in it from deep in the city to the almost isolated manor. She had cried too many times for her to keep count and it still didn’t make her feel any better. She missed him, terribly. It didn’t matter how much time had passed since he left, she still missed him and wondered how long the feeling would last. She was also still frustrated that he left without telling her; she was upset about him leaving, period! If anything, she realized what she yearned was for some sort of explanation. Maybe that would make her feel better. Even if he didn’t want to get back together, knowing why he left would be something that weighed less on her mind and possibly her heart.

Being invisible, J’onn simply watched her and read her thoughts. Why didn’t he just show himself, let her know that he did love her and was hurting just as much as she was? He knew how she felt about everything; she wanted him back. Or… did she? The only thing he knew for certain was that she missed him a lot. That she was sorry for how she reacted. That she was upset that he left the way that he did. However, there were no clear thoughts saying that she wanted him back. He knew that there wouldn’t be; he still needed to prove that Tabitha could trust him, again.

When he made the decision to leave, the Martian at first explored and lived in Asia. The culture there was something that relaxed him and it would definitely try to keep his mind off of his heartache. However, it was no good. As he looked at the various, beautiful lands, the one thought that stayed with him: Tabitha would love this. When he saw that no matter where he went, he would still think about her, the Manhunter from Mars made the decision (and he had a feeling in the back of his mind that it may have been a poor one) to become some sort of guardian over his ex-girlfriend.

Another thing that was bothering him: he was jealous. He felt a hint of it when the two went to confront Luthor and the criminal mastermind made it obvious that he enjoyed whatever intimacy he had with the white-haired woman; J’onn knew that he had every right to be jealous. This was different. He knew that the main reason why Tabitha was staying with Bruce was to help out the Dark Knight persona out. However, the Martian wasn’t dumb; even without using his mind reading ability, he knew that Bruce was attracted to her: he had known for quite some time, even when they were dating. What made him narrow his eyes at the man as he approached the balcony was the idea that Bruce would be so bold to move in so quickly on his Tabitha. His Tabitha; that thought made him suddenly sad: she technically wasn’t “his” any longer. As much as it pained him, as many times as he had promised himself that he would be back… she was free to move on in the meantime. He sighed as he turned away, venturing back to where he had made his home.

Bruce was careful not to startle the white-haired woman; the last thing he needed was to either be shocked or suffer through another broken bone! He studied her for a moment, admiring how her hair gently moved in the light wind. He noticed that she was almost always on the balcony, especially at night and hoped that she wasn’t using that time to cry in peace. When he felt that he was close enough, he decided to make his presence known.

“… Tabitha…?” he was glad that she only turned his way… as well as seeing that there was no evidence that she was crying. She gave him a weak smile before turning back to look at the stars.

“You should be resting…”

“I’ll be fine. I just wanted to check on you.”

“Oh… I’m good. Just… it’s comforting here. You’re away from that… haze; I can see the stars from here.” she told him. He stood beside her, looking at the stars with her and nodded, “You know… Barb and Robin ain’t bad at all. They **could** take care of things by themselves…”

“They’re just kids. Besides, you strike just as much fear as Batman does! Plus… I needed someone to protect them…” he smiled at her.

“Sure I’m the right one for the job?” she smirked and shook her head at the idea. Bruce laughed a little.

“Still trying to talk out of this whole ordeal, I see! Am I that bad of a person?” he tried to hide more of his laughter. She swung her head towards him with a shocked look on her face.

“W-What?! No!!” she felt her cheeks ache when he finally laughed fully, “I should shock your ass for that!”

“Go ahead, Miss Lyght; it’ll only prolong your stay here!” he liked the fact that she gave him a playful smile and shove. Her brown eyes switched to a more serious tone.

“I just… don’t feel comfortable invading your home like this…” she admitted.

“Invading my… Tabitha… I asked you to come here; it’s not like you invited yourself!” he said. She stopped looking at him and simply nodded. He couldn’t help but to continue to look at her, wondering if he should tell her about his feelings for her. It would be sudden for her, he knew but Bruce felt that he had stood in the background long enough. She now at least had a right to know, he tried to convince himself. Bruce cleared his throat, “There’s… another reason why I asked you to come back…” he tried. She slowly looked at him, her brown eyes gleaming.

“What; you missed me or something?” the idea made her smile widely. It had been a long time ago but she remembered when she had faint feelings for the man. She admitted that he had very attractive qualities, both Bruce Wayne and Batman. However, his confirmation that she would only be his friend and colleague made those feelings turn elsewhere.

“W-Well… of course. But… more than you realized.”

“… Wait… what?” her eyes slightly widened. She couldn’t believe what came out of his mouth; he had missed her… more than she knew. Her eyes widened even more as he gently took her into his arms. While she was shocked at the move, she also found herself oddly melting as he brushed strands of her hair away from her forehead; she realized that it had been months since anyone embraced her the way that Bruce was doing. A part of her welcomed the embrace; it was something that she may have needed all along. Her heartbeat quickened as he leaned in closer to her, finally putting his lips on hers. She couldn’t explain it; she felt as if… it was wrong. She shouldn’t be kissing anyone else so soon after her breakup; wasn’t she still devastated over losing J’onn? So soon? How long had it been since she told J’onn that they should take a break from their relationship, she asked herself. How long ago was it that he decided to leave, basically dropping off from the face of the earth? It wasn’t like they were married and it wasn’t as if he had died suddenly, she tried to reason with herself.

She was also trying to figure out another thing; of all people… why was Bruce Wayne kissing her? Wasn’t this the same man who, a few years back was very strict on his “no dating colleagues” policy? She wondered what made him change his mind, suddenly. Maybe Bruce Wayne and Batman were indeed two totally different people; while Bruce may have constantly thought about pursuing her or even Diana, maybe even welcoming and yearning for it, Batman wanted nothing to do with that and love, period.

He finally let go of the kiss and looked into her confused and shocked brown eyes. He really didn’t know what to say to her; he hadn’t planned that far ahead! All he knew was that he was glad that he had finally kissed her… and that she finally knew how he really felt about her.

“I… I know that you’re… you’re still trying to get over J’onn. But…” he ran into a brick wall. What was he trying to tell her? He had been in love with her for quite some time but he suddenly felt bad about kissing her. Maybe he was **too** quick to try to make her forget about her broken heart, “I… jumped the gun. Maybe I shouldn’t have kissed you…” he realized. He let go of the embrace and turned to leave but she immediately grabbed his hand. The look of shock still registered on her face but was slowly leaving. He left; J’onn was gone, she told herself. This affection from Bruce… there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. She pulled him closer to her as a look of appreciation flashed across her face.

“No… that was what I needed.” she told him and returned the kiss. She tried not to think of what this would lead up to; the only thing she wanted to do was relish in the kiss and melt in his arms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I know that I switched the story around about Barbara's sexual orientation; it is actually Batwoman who has had her sexual preference switched during the "purge" over to the new 52. Seeing as though she will not make an appearance whatsoever in my series, I decided to go ahead and give Barbara that trait instead!*


	4. A Rival Appears

“…… You want me to do **WHAT**?!”

Bruce sighed and eventually laughed as Tabitha looked at him wide-eyed. He grabbed her hands and kissed them, only for her to quickly snatch them away and glare at him.

“What? You’ve come a long way from the rage-infested, cocky brat that waltzed into my building and fixed my security system…”

“… You thought I was cocky…?” she looked at him with all seriousness. He laughed more and grabbed her hands yet again.

“Stop interrupting me! I believe that… you need to put that part of your life behind you; it’ll make things a lot easier on you.” he tried to explain. She just looked into his eyes for a moment and looked away.

“… I don’t think I can… he’s the reason why I’m what I am now.”

“Some people like the way you are…” he made her look at him by gently tugging at her chin, “You’ve accepted the fact that you’ll never be normal… which can be overrated a lot of times. The next step should be to let him know that.” he finished explaining.

“… You like that I’m a Metahuman…?”

“I like you, period! I don’t care that you’re a Metahuman!” he smiled. She blushed and smiled back but sighed a bit.

“What if… I lose it..?”

“I have all the confidence that you won’t.”

She looked up at the building and let out a shaky sigh. The last time she was there, she had almost lost it. Two years after becoming a Metahuman, she had finally come face-to-face with the man who was responsible for the transformation: Gary First. Even with the fellow Justice League members surrounding her, even with the near completion of her rehabilitation, she had come so close to giving the man what she felt he deserved: a quick and very painful death. Now that she was going in alone, what would stop her from completing the job?

As she went inside and signed the visitor’s log, she realized that her new boyfriend was right; there were so many things that she had left in the past: the man formerly known as Alpha should be added to that list. She had finally accepted that being a Metahuman was who she was. Tabitha was actually afraid of admitting that to him as well as she was willing to let go of the past, trying to forget about what he had done to her.

She waited in the same room as she did a few years ago and thought more. How could she really just forget about what he had done to her? He had left her for dead, turned her late best friend against her, lied to her family and even tried to kill her; things like that were not easy to forget! She sadly thought that maybe she had agreed on seeing Gary and letting bygones be bygones only to satisfy Bruce.

There was something different about him, she noticed as he entered the room. For one, there was only one guard with him. Gary gave her a genuine smile as the guard closed the door. The man that stood before her was actually clean-shaven, with a fresh haircut. His once salt and pepper hair was now fully grey however his facial features looked more defined. His hazel eyes shone as he sat down across from her. Two things made her very uneasy: the guard was actually behind the door… and Gray wasn’t restrained to the chair. Tabitha mentally readied herself for any unpredictability.

“… I’m surprised to see you…” his voice was confident yet sincere. She switched glances from the lone guard outside the door and back to Gary.

“Why ain’t you handcuffed to that chair?” she wasted no time showing her concern. He gave her a light smile.

“Oh… a lot has changed about me since the last time we spoke. I’ve had time to think about what I’ve done and my mental state. Plus… I’ve stopped fighting the staff about taking my medication.” he confessed. She started to calm down and tried to relax in her chair.

“So… the meds are working…?”

“I have a much clearer mind than four years ago, if that’s what you’re asking. Which… I want to apologize for, by the way…” his apology actually threw her off guard. For years, she wanted to hear that apology. She knew that it really wouldn’t change the fact that she was a Metahuman… but at least she would have known that he was willing to apologize for putting her through hell; that he actually gave a damn. Tabitha sat there and stared at him blankly.

“… Why…?”

“… I… don’t understand…”

“I didn’t come here for no apology; hell, I wanted **that** four years ago!”

“… Oh. Well… now that my mind is clear… I realized that you deserved one. So… if you didn’t come here for an apology… what did you come her for? We’re not what someone would call the best of friends…” she was afraid that he would want to know. Tabitha shifted in her seat and stopped looking at him.

“Closure… I guess. I don’t know.” she sighed; she really wished that she had practiced some type of speech and that Bruce was there with her. Tabitha finally looked at him, “I’m never gonna be normal again and… I’m fine with that, now. I guess… I wanna know… why me…?”

“Oh… Tabitha… it wasn’t personal; it never was at first. I was picking really small units; ones that I felt wouldn’t set off alarms if something was to go wrong. I… never planned on anything really going wrong, to tell the truth… especially the machine malfunctioning. And, as far as me picking you… it was purely coincidental that you were that guy’s sergeant.”

“So… you had no intentions of killing me…?”

“… I panicked when the machine broke down and killed you. Had I been in my right mind… I would’ve revived you. But at the time… the only thing I was thinking about was the project.” he explained. She slightly nodded.

“I… I found out that you ain’t a real general…” she saw that his eyes widened slightly, “How the hell did you pull it off?” it was something that she had wondered for quite some time. With so much paperwork to go through, not to mention boot camp and training overall, she figured that it was absolutely impossible to trick any branch of service into believing that someone was a service member, let alone a high ranking general in charge of their own department!

“… How did you find out…?”

“Let’s just say a little birdie told me… a one-eyed birdie…” it made her slightly twitch thinking about the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization; she owed someone, **anyone** from there a quick jolt… that Russian spy especially…

“I see; you ran into Nick Fury. He probably told you that I wanted the formula to be dispensed to all military personnel. He was right; I felt that it shouldn’t have been allotted to a special handful. So, I came up with a plan to steal the formula and disperse it myself; I knew how to do it. But… in order for that to work, I needed to look and act the part. There was an employee who worked there; a simple engineer. I knew that he was former military and… I befriended him. He taught me everything I needed to know. But, the icing on the cake? His wife…”

“His wife? What; the three of ya were in some sort of sick… weird orgy or something?” she asked, making a face. Gary laughed a little.

“No.”

“Oh. Oh; she was an officer…”

“No. She made fake IDs. I offered the two an amount that they couldn’t refuse as well as a guaranteed job placement elsewhere for him.” she didn’t hear the rest of his words. She had stiffened up, becoming upset that she hadn’t put two and two together sooner; it couldn’t be…

“… T-The husband and… wife… you know where they’re at…?”

“I remember when I gave them the money, he said that it came at the right time; she got a job offer to teach back in her hometown; I guess she was some sort of teacher or professor. I, um… well… it was the reason why I had your body dumped there; not to send them a message directly but… it was just a sick reminder for me that it was because of them that I was truly able to do what I did.” he explained. She had a sudden sickness that started in the pit of her stomach and tried to make its way to her throat; she swallowed hard to ease it back down, “I don’t know if she still makes fake IDs but… with their quality, I highly doubt that she stopped. I gave her at least a couple of grand for one ID, alone.” he finished. She slightly panicked as her sight blurred a little; she was trying really hard to hold down the contents in her stomach, alone. Another hard swallow and she forced herself to focus on him.

“D-D-Did they… k-know about… your plans…?”

“Oh, no. The first rule of thumb when it comes to planning things like that: tell no one else. The only thing that they knew was that I needed fake IDs. She was worried when I told her that they needed to be military but I assured her that I was no terrorist! Are you… okay?” he finally noticed that she had become pale. She took a deep breath but the sickness stayed along with the blurriness.

“… Yeah. I… I just wanted… some answers. I-I-I’m over it now.” she knew that she needed to leave. Tabitha got up from the chair and grabbed the guard’s attention. Gary didn’t flinch as she walked past him but looked up at her slowly.

“… I was afraid…” he simply said. She turned and looked at him.

“W-W-W-What?”

“The last time you were here… I was afraid. I knew that you were going to kill me on the spot. I don’t know why the guards did nothing but… I deserved it; I knew that. So… if I don’t ever see you again… I just wanted you to know that.” he explained. She could only nod and rush out of the room; she had a feeling that the sickness wasn’t going to stay down.

As she ran into the restroom, she cursed herself for being right; she wasn’t able to hold down the sickness that was pushing its way past her throat any longer: she barely made it to one of the sinks when she violently heaved out the contents in her stomach. She was glad that no one was in the restroom; waves of electrical currents flowed all over her body, making her break out into a cold sweat and vomiting once more. When she was finally done, she weakly tried to rinse the sink out. A feeling of embarrassment overtook her as she slumped down to the floor. After what seemed like forever, Tabitha finally calmed down and gained enough strength to finish cleaning up and leave. What he told her replayed in her mind over and over again, giving her a headache. It wasn’t true; it couldn’t be: why would doc do something like that to me, she thought. She shook her head; she wanted to hear it from her best friend in person.

* * *

Having a super heroine best friend, Jamila had gotten used to her doorbell ringing at any given time of the day. So, it wasn’t a surprise that she had barely heard it as she was getting ready to lay down beside her husband, calling it a night. He groaned slightly, putting his pillow over his head.

“Stop it; she’s my best friend!”

“Does that mean she don’t have to know how to tell time?”

“The Justice League don’t go by nine to five hours!”

“You’re not a part of the Justice League!!” he yelled as she left the room. When she opened the door, she wasn’t expecting to be slammed into the wall by her shoulders. She looked into her best friend’s eyes with slight fear.

“T-Tabs!”

“Tell me he’s wrong, Jamila; tell me!!” she almost growled. The professor knew that something was wrong; the last time the lightning woman had called her by her real name, the woman had amnesia. Tabitha lifted the woman off her feet, pinning her to the wall as hard as she could. Jamila winced in pain and confusion as she felt Tabitha’s fingers digging into her arms.

“W-W-What… I-I-I don’t know… Tabitha…” she didn’t know what Tabitha was talking about. Her confusion only made it worse as Tabitha threw her best friend down to the ground. Something definitely was wrong, Jamila thought as she saw Tabitha glare down at her. She tried to scramble to her feet however fear was stopping her legs from working; she could only manage to crawl away as Tabitha slowly stalked her.

“You… you made a fake ID for that son-of-a-bitch!!”

“I-I-I-I make a lot of fake IDs… who are you talking abo…” her best friend’s words made the sickness come back to her. Tabitha swallowed hard and caught up to her friend, immediately wrapping her hand around Jamila’s throat, making the older woman gasp. She was about to lose it, she was about to black out; she felt it as she started to experience the tunnel vision.

Jamila’s eyes widened when she felt her hand grasping tighter around her throat, immediately cutting off her air supply. She could only watch in fear as the usual glimmer from her brown eyes started to quickly fade; she was about to rage…

“ _For the love of God, J’onn… I don’t know where you are… but Tabs is losing it!!!_ ” Jamila had hoped that her frantic plea would reach him. For all she knew, he had cut off all ties with anyone associated with her. She had prayed that he didn’t; she didn’t care who had broken whose heart: she needed someone capable of snapping Tabitha out of her rage!

When the sickness started to climb into her throat again, Tabitha regained some of her vision and focus. She tried to hold in the sickness but as she did, she became fully aware. She had someone’s throat in her hand; she looked down and saw her best friend was wheezing, clawing at the hand she had firmly wrapped around her throat. Tears welled in her eyes and she immediately let go. As her best friend rolled to her side and started franticly coughing, Tabitha ran into the kitchen and retched into the sink. As she ran water to clean out the sink, she saw Jamila standing at a distance, obviously shaking from her ordeal. Tears finally made their way out of Tabitha’s eyes as her own shaking finally ceased.

“… Y-Y-You… you still make IDs…?” she cried. Jamila couldn’t look her best friend in the eyes; she trained them on the kitchen floor instead.

“… I couldn’t tell you…” her voice was a raspy whisper, “Especially seeing who you work for. I’m… sorry…” she was still confused; she knew that it was illegal what she did but why on earth would it make her best friend attack her the way that she did?

Tabitha breaking down, collapsing on the floor prompted her friend to come closer to her. She looked up at her through tear-soaked eyes and extended her hand out, showing the electrical currents that waved over her fingers.

“Don’t! Don’t come near me! It’s cuz of **you** that I’m what I am now!!” she cried more. Jamila had heard something and glanced over at the staircase where her husband stood with just as a confused look as she had. She quickly motioned for her husband to stay put but kept her eyes on her friend.

“… Tabs… I seriously don’t know what you’re talk…” as the words escaped her mouth, she finally realized what her best friend was getting at. Jamila started back to shaking as she gasped, remembering that particular job, “… no. Oh, God… no!!”

“How could you?!” Tabitha sobbed; it really depressed her to even think that her best friend had a hand in the reason why she became a Metahuman. Tears streaked down to Jamila’s cheeks as she slightly covered her mouth.

“Oh, my God… I swear, I didn’t know! I’m so sorry, Tabitha!” he didn’t care what she said; Albert had barely made it to his wife in time to catch her as she collapsed. He looked at the two sobbing women.

“What the hell is going on?!” he asked. Still shaking, Jamila tried to wipe her eyes and look at him.

“T-T-That guy… before we moved here… the one who wanted the military IDs…”

“… The scientist? What about… him…” he thought for a moment and then widened his eyes, putting two and two together. He stared at Tabitha, shaking his head, “Oh, fuck… Tabitha…” was all he could say. Despite the warning, Jamila went over to her best friend and held her. She was glad that Tabitha didn’t push her away and simply clung onto her. The two held each other until they both stopped crying.

“Tabs… you’re my best friend; I would never do anything to hurt you…” Jamila tried. Tabitha responded with a sniffle and a slight nod.

“Why? Why you do it?”

“… I’ve never asked a client why they needed a fake ID; I never **wanted** to know why he wanted a military ID! It was my job to make whatever the client wanted…”

“… She’s been making IDs before I even met her. Pays a hell of a lot more than being a professor! We… we had mouths to feed… and bills to pay. If it was just us… I would’ve made her quit…” Albert tried to explain.

“You really… didn’t know what he was planning…”

“No. I would’ve told him to go fuck himself if I knew…” Jamila told her. Tabitha sighed a little and started to get up. She looked at her best friend and slightly cringed at the marks around her neck. What had gotten into her; as upset as she was at the news, she knew that normally, she would never put her hands on her best friend. She wiped at the fresh tears forming into her eyes as the professor looked away.

“I’m… I’m sorry… for attacking you. I… fuck! When he told me… it made me so sick…”

“… You stopped thinking. I deserved it… making IDs for people like that…” she mumbled. Tabitha made her look into her eyes, gently grabbing her by the shoulders.

“No; you ain’t a bad person, doc… bad people don’t take in total strangers into their home. I just… lost it… again…” it almost made her angry that had it not been for her getting sick to her stomach, she would’ve killed her best friend.

“… I gotta be careful who I make IDs for…”

“No! Doc… you can’t make no more IDs… period!” she looked dead into her eyes. Jamila slightly looked away.

“Tabs…”

“If you need the money that fucking bad… I’ll ask Bruce…” she immediately made up her mind. Jamila shot her a look.

“I… I can’t let you do that…”

“Whatever it takes to make you stop! Cuz… I don’t wanna be the one to bring you in; I can’t…” the thought made her tear up. She sucked in a breath to keep the tears away, “And, I can’t do my job… I’m no good to the League.” she continued. Jamila thought about her words as her hands absentmindedly reached up and touched the bruises on her neck. She grimaced as she touched the sore and tender spots, a painful reminder of how truly powerful… and dangerous her best friend really was. She wasn’t about to cross her anymore.

Tabitha saw that Jamila finally noticed the bruises she had left around her neck and a tear fell. Before Jamila could respond, Tabitha immediately hugged her tightly. She hugged her back and nodded.

“Alright… no more IDs…”

J’onn gave out a silent sigh of relief; he was worried that she would actually go through with blacking out: he would have been ready to risk showing himself to stop her from killing her friend. He wondered what was actually wrong with her; had his sudden departure put **that** much of an impact on her mentality? He lingered for a while as the two women hugged and reluctantly went on his way.

* * *

Months passed steadily as Tabitha tried to balance her erratic emotions, fighting alongside Peter and getting more and more into Bruce Wayne. Not that she had gotten over the Martian completely; she still thought about him. However, as Bruce started to give her his all, thoughts of J’onn began to be few and far apart. She couldn’t help but to think of him whenever she performed her Monitor duties; he was the reason why she was in that position in the first place. However, as time passed, she learned not to dwell on the bad things but the good things. She was thankful that she had met the Martian… and wouldn’t forget him.

For Bruce, life was actually… better. There had been quite a few women who made lasting impressions on him but even with them, he was always reluctant on revealing who he really was. That was the one thing that absolutely irked him about falling in love: would telling the woman that he cared about that he was Batman change their relationship? Ten times out of ten, it always did. It couldn’t be helped; who wanted to be Batman’s girlfriend, knowing the dangers and the risks he always put himself in? He thought that maybe he would be able to keep it from whoever the love of his life was but that wouldn’t work; how would he explain the outings?

He was glad that this time around was different; the love of his life was a super heroine; she had to keep her own identity a secret as well. She knew exactly who he was, even before they became lovers, and she accepted him fully. To make matters better… they were fighting crime together. A part of him worried about her safety but he knew that she had the same worries. They just had to keep each other safe for the most part. He was even worried that it seemed as though the lightning woman was getting closer and closer to reforming back to her former self and raging. The one thing that kept his heart at ease on that matter was that he was with her, along with Barbara and his adopted son; the three were very capable of calming her down or even taking her out if it was to happen. Bruce never wanted to think about the latter but Tabitha was no fool; she told him several times that if it ever came down to that, she would want someone really close to her to “do the honors”: that someone would be Bruce.

She had grown so much since the first time they had become partners, Bruce realized. She was fully aware of the fact that she used to go into a blind rage and knew the beginning signs of it; there was no real need for anyone to baby her. She had stopped using her Metahuman abilities as much, so her skill level was on par with Bruce’s and the others. Once his ankle was better, he took over training her; while he liked the fact that Ted was training her, he didn’t know all of the martial arts that he did. She was a quick learner and surprisingly disciplined; he enjoyed spending every moment with her.

That was why he was really nervous about what he wanted to do. Bruce Wayne loved Tabitha Lyght; his deep feelings for her were there for quite some time. He couldn’t hide from his true feelings any longer; he wanted to make sure that this was the one that didn’t get away.

Everyone in Gotham was astounded with the news of their prodigal son dating his head electrician; it was almost unthinkable that he would be involved with someone so… common. Regardless, she tried not to let the stares and disapproving looks get to her; Tabitha knew that she was not the type of woman that people were used to seeing Bruce with. She would constantly wish that everyone knew the real Bruce Wayne, the one who cared less about the expensive dinners and trips. The real Bruce looked at, analyzed and judged people from the inside out. It didn’t matter that Tabitha Lyght wasn’t sophisticated or even wealthy enough; he loved her for who she was, period.

It seemed like another regular fundraiser to her. So, she wondered why Bruce insisted that her family and the Lindseys attended. She also saw that quite a few Justice League members were present as well, which was even weirder; they were hardly ever invited to one of his shindigs unless they were there for undercover security purposes. Nevertheless, Tabitha and Jamila stood around one of the various rounded food tables that had been scattered around in the main dining room of the manor.

“Nice wig…” Jamila mumbled, making the woman blush.

“Shut up!” she retaliated. She knew that it was inevitable; once they started dating, she knew that she would have to make appearances with him to all the fancy dinners, fundraisers and galas: wearing her signature t-shirt head wrap was out of the question. She absolutely hated wigs but was willing to tolerate them in order to not embarrass her boyfriend out in public. At least he made sure that they were the same medium brown color as her original hair color had been.

“Seriously; you look really good, skinny bitch!” Jamila eyed her friend’s figure in the snug blue dress Bruce picked out for her.

“Thanks. If I hear my daddy call me pudgy one more time…” she shook her head as she took a sip of her champagne. She immediately made a face at her glass.

“Hmm? What’s up?” Jamila took notice. Tabitha shook her head and gave the glass to one of the servers.

“Sorry… it tastes funny to me…”

“Would you like something else, Miss Lyght?”

“I guess… some water. Bruce’ll have my head if I gotta beer!” she lightly laughed. The server nodded and left. Jamila sniffed her glass and shrugged.

“Smells okay to me… maybe a bad batch?”

“God, I hope not! That means we gotta grab everyone’s glass, go through all the batches…”

“I see. Easier to just let everyone get sick and deal with that; I got it…” Jamila responded calmly, taking a sip of her champagne. Tabitha looked at her for a second and burst into laughter. The professor tried to stay calm but failed and laughed along with her. She looked across the room to locate her husband but her eyes stopped at the couple in the middle of the room, “Ooh! Who’s that with Bruce…?” she asked. Tabitha followed her friend’s gaze and they landed on Bruce talking to a woman. She was beautiful, with jet black long hair that flowed past her shoulders. She laughed at whatever Bruce had said and her green eyes glowed with excitement. Tabitha was about to shrug it off until she saw how the woman… touched Bruce. It was like one of her touches, the ones that she did when she wanted to be affectionate with him. That was **her** touch… and no other woman should be touching Bruce Wayne in **that** manner!

It didn’t matter that Bruce had calmly removed the woman’s hand and gave her a strange look; the only thing Tabitha saw was that someone was **touching** him! Whenever he was being interviewed by a female reporter, especially an entertainment reporter, they would try to touch him as much as they could; that was fine: it was their job to try to get all cozy and mingle. This woman… she had never seen before. She knew that the green-eyed vixen wasn’t a reporter or even a friend; since they started dating, she was introduced to all of his associates.

“… Excuse me for a minute…”

“Oh… shit’s ‘bout to get real…” Jamila gulped down the rest of her champagne and followed her best friend over to the two. A thought occurred to her as they made their way over; she knew what her best friend was capable of! Jamila immediately grabbed Tabitha by the arm, “Tabs… remember where we’re at…” she quietly warned. Tabitha huffed, narrowed her eyes at the two but nodded. She cleared her throat and put on her best smile as she came to Bruce’s side, wrapping her arm around his.

He had seen her making an angry beeline towards the two and was relieved in many ways than one, especially when he saw the professor whisper something to her to make her calm down! He gave his girlfriend a genuine smile, thanking her mentally for the “rescue”. The woman in front of him didn’t hide her disappointment of Tabitha’s arrival, even scowling at her.

“Have you met my girlfriend?”

“… No. I didn’t even know that you were taken…” the woman almost narrowed her eyes at Tabitha. Regardless of the rudeness, Tabitha kept her smile as she switched glances from Bruce to the fair-skinned woman.

“This is Tabitha. Tabitha, this is Selina Kyle. She’s a sponsor for the fundraiser tonight.” he introduced. Tabitha thought about being petty and not offering her hand but she knew that she had to be the better woman; she gave Selina a wider grin and enthusiastically threw her hand out.

“Oh! Well, then it’s very nice to meet you, Miss Kyle!” she kept the smile on her face. Selina reluctantly shook her hand, making sure that she gave her a firm grip. Really, Tabitha wanted to raise an eyebrow at her; she felt that Selina was trying to prove her strength. How surprised she would be if she only knew who she was dealing with, the thought made Tabitha smile.

“Likewise… I’m sure. It’s funny that Bruce never mentioned you…”

“… Oh? Hmm… I’m surprised that he would even have to mention something, honey; the media makes sure they broadcast it as much as possible!” Tabitha gleamed. Jamila stifled a snicker hearing her best friend lay on her accent so thickly. Bruce kept his composure as Selina slightly flinched at the accent.

“I figured you weren’t from here. Well, then… have a good night…” she said and reluctantly left but not before giving Bruce a certain look. Tabitha kept her smile, wrapping her arm even more around Bruce’s.

“You too! Hope to see ya at the next fundraiser!” she stopped herself from waving. She waited until Selina was out of sight before turning her attention towards Bruce, “So… who’s Selina Kyle…”

“She’s a fundraiser spons…”

“No… who is she… really? Cuz, I saw that look she gave you… and she touched you…”

“Women touch me all the time; it was…” he stopped himself short as Tabitha narrowed her eyes at him. Jamila uneasily looked around the room.

“Think I’ll get me another glass of champagne…” she mumbled and left. Bruce sighed slightly.

“… We used to date…”

“Oh. And you didn’t tell her about me because…” she raised an eyebrow at him.

“Like you said, she should’ve already known! Look… it’s not what you think; trust me. Can we talk about it… later… in private… please…?” he almost begged. She gave him a look but eventually nodded.

“Fine…”

“Nice accent, by the way…”

“She had it coming!”

* * *

The fundraiser was coming to an end as Bruce and Tabitha grabbed everyone’s attention at the front of the room. Throughout the entire bash, J’onn kept a watchful eye on Tabitha. Shape shifted into a random human form, he watched as she mingled, laughed, ate; he was even proud that she kept her composure dealing with the woman who was obviously flirting with Bruce, cracking a smile when she tried to be obnoxious as possible with the thick accent.

He really missed her, to the point where he was closer and closer to approaching her and begging for a second chance… regardless of who she was with. He was debating on when he was going to reveal himself to her; as the party was coming to an end, J’onn knew that his window of opportunity was closing fast. What would he do, how would he go about revealing himself to her, he asked himself. He was so caught up in coming up with some sort of plan that he hadn’t notice that someone approached him. Jamila simply smiled at him, handing him a glass of champagne.

“Hi! Looks like you need to loosen up…” she tried. She had noticed the man had been staring at her best friend the entire night… and didn’t like it. The stranger was indeed very handsome; his dark exotic eyes simply staring at her as he grabbed the glass. She just couldn’t shake the vibe that lingered around him; something wasn’t right about the man, she thought to herself as he gave her a warm smile.

“Thank you, Miss…?”

“Dr. Lindsey.” she emphasized the title.

“A medical doctor?” he asked. It made her laugh a little, slowly sipping the remainder of her champagne.

“I wish! A doctor of science and education. Are you enjoying yourself, Mr.…?”

“You can call me John, Dr. Lindsey…” he rushed and went back to watching Tabitha.

“Oh, that’s it? Just… John?” she asked. She became a bit annoyed that he continued to glance towards Tabitha’s way. Well… she **is** beautiful, she tried to reason. Maybe John was simply admiring her from afar.

Jamila was about to leave the stranger alone until a sudden feeling swept through her. She took the opportunity to study him since he was ignoring her. She had never seen him before, she knew but she couldn’t shake the feeling, “John… you look oddly familiar to me. Did you go to school in North Carolina?” maybe she went to college with the man; had seen him around campus.

“No.”

“New York?”

“Afraid not.”

“Hmm. What’s your last name… if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Jones. Quite a common last name; you may have heard of quite a few John Joneses…”

“Yeah… that’s true. My maiden name is Jones so…” she nodded in agreement however something had hit her before she could finish her sentence. She continued to study the man with more emphasis; she knew him. The vibe that continued to linger around him wasn’t a bad vibe at all; the professor knew that she knew this John Jones: maybe he was a student…

Jamila’s eyes widened as she continued to stare at him and leaned in closer. J’onn looked down at her.

“Is… everything okay, Dr. Lindsey…?”

“………… J’onn?!” she whispered. He was glad that he had complete control over his composure; she would’ve definitely seen the shock in his face that the professor had caught on. He didn’t think that it would hurt to use his basic human alias around her, especially seeing that he was disguising his voice and looks. He had to think of something; he knew that she was mere seconds away from running over to her best friend to tell her: this was not the way he planned on revealing himself. He gave her a slightly confused look and erased the fact that she had figured him out at the same time. When her expression went from surprised to a simple blank stare, he knew that it worked.

“Dr. Lindsey… are you okay?” he asked. She blinked a couple of times and gave him an uncertain look.

“…… Yeah. I’m sorry; guess I spaced out for a sec!”

“Too much champagne?” he asked with a hint of a smile. Jamila gave him a look and a wry smile.

“I can hold my liquor, thank you very much!” she returned. Jamila was about to continue speaking to the man until Bruce asked for everyone’s attention. His small speech included thanking everyone who contributed to the fundraiser, mentioning an upcoming event that he hoped to see the same faces at. There were a couple of jokes that were laughed at and then he gearing towards the end of his speech. Tabitha looked slightly uncomfortable but stayed beside him, keeping her smile. She was relieved when he ended the speech and was about to leave until he quickly grabbed her hand.

“One more thing before everyone leaves…” he clasped her hand tighter. She gave him an odd look as he looked and smiled at her. Everything seemed to go in slow motion for Tabitha as she watched him get down on one knee. She barely heard the gasps and sounds of surprise through her own heart pounding through her ears. Her knees buckled slightly as she watched him pull the ring out of his pocket; it was the biggest diamond she had ever seen in her life! However, it wasn’t the ring that made her want to faint; it was the obvious confirmation of what he was about to do and say, “No big speeches, just straight and to the point: will you marry me, Tabitha?” he asked. She was absolutely speechless! She never knew that Bruce felt that way about her. Sure, he had told her that he had been in love with her for the longest; she knew that he loved her so technically, the proposal wasn’t as sudden as it looked. She did love him, there was no doubt in her mind that she did; however, it was what he was doing at that moment that made her question just how much. She had never thought about marriage, even after experiencing the time travel. This was a very huge step for her to take; part of her hated that the man did this in public, in front of her family and the Justice League: what if she didn’t want to get married… at all?

What was she afraid of? She knew Bruce Wayne; she knew everything about him. The two now spent almost every waking moment with one another; it was almost as though they were already married. For a while, she had thought that the only reason why she had kissed him back that night was because she needed something to make her feel better. However, she knew that she was never forced to kiss him, she was never forced to fall in love with him; everything simply came naturally. This wasn’t some fling to try to get over the Martian; this was real. Bruce Wayne was doing something that J’onn J’onzz never did: confess his love for her in front of everyone. Tabitha couldn’t speak as a tear rolled down to her cheek.

“Um… Tabitha… don’t leave me hanging, here…” Bruce half whispered, drawing a few laughs from those who overheard. The crowd responded as Tabitha covered her mouth and nodded, Bruce immediately slipping the ring on her finger. He got up and gave her a loving hug and a tender kiss. Tabitha had no time to look at the expressions of everyone in the room, particularly Selina’s as she huffed and stormed out of the room. Her best friend had her mouth covered throughout the entire proposal, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.

“Holy… shit! Can you believe that?! They’re…” she turned to the stranger and saw that he was gone, “… Oh. Oh, well; let’s keep the party going!!” she yelled. Everything that J’onn was planning had been ruined; he never imagined that Bruce would propose marriage to the one he still loved. He couldn’t do it; he couldn’t stand there and watch any more of it; he simply left.

As the remaining guests left, Bruce and Tabitha received congratulations from everyone. She was a bit nervous as the Justice League members started to approach them, wondering how they really felt about everything. She was overly relieved as she saw the smiles on their faces when they hugged the two; she didn’t care if they were fake or not: at least they cared enough about them to pretend to be happy for them, not wanting to cause any ill feelings. They all had wished them well, a few already making plans on how the wedding would go! All except for Diana. The two never tried to hide that they were together in front of the League members… but they never said anything as well. She had her suspicions about the two, especially when Tabitha made the decision to move back completely to Gotham instead of staying in Metropolis. Diana had selfishly wondered if Tabitha had broken Bruce’s ankle on purpose just to get closer to him…

She was going to be nice and approach them; she knew that it was the least she could do. However, she made sure that she waited until the other members left before she came up to them.

“Just to let you know… I don’t approve of this one bit…”

“Diana…”

“… I should have known that something was going on between the two of you. I just never thought that you would actually go through with it, Bruce. Seems like your little speech about not dating colleagues was just an excuse… or was it something that you just told me…?”

“Now, hold on…” Tabitha definitely didn’t like the way Diana had approached the two. She had a feeling that the Amazon would not approve but she thought that she would be woman enough to cast her jealous emotions aside and wish the two well.

Diana simply glared at Tabitha as she tried to intercept her words.

“Don’t. Save it; and here I thought we were friends…”

“… You know what? I thought the same thing but friends don’t drive other people away!” she had bitten her tongue long enough. While she had given up on ever getting back with J’onn, it still bothered her that Diana was the one who put in his head to leave. It didn’t matter if she hadn’t known about their relationship; what right did she have to tell him to do something like that? All she had to do was not say a word to him and the Martian would at least have still been on Watchtower!

The comment was enough to make Diana stop seething and give Tabitha a slightly confused look.

“… What? I’ve never driven anyone away…”

“Yeah? Oh, so I guess we’re missing a member for the hell of it, then! You don’t like our relationship, fine; don’t come to the wedding! But, you ain’t got no damn right to question Bruce’s feelings for **anyone**! And you damn sure ain’t got the right to make decisions for grown folks! He ain’t gotta make excuses for no one! If he really wanted to be with you… he would’ve!” her words shocked even Bruce. Tabitha grabbed his hand tightly and began dragging him away, “I’m tired. Goodnight, Diana…” she finished and the two turned to leave. Diana could do nothing but stand there and watch, thinking about what Tabitha had said. 


	5. Nine Lives

She couldn’t help laughing as Tabitha dropped a few thick books on her kitchen table and plopped down in the chair with her head in her hands. Jamila picked up one of the books and flipped through it; of course, a bridal book.

“Problems?” she simply asked. Tabitha could only nod and let out an exhausting groan, “Guess I’ve been enlisted to help…”

“As my matron of honor, you **have** to!”

“Why did I agree to this…?”

“Because you love me and you owe me!”

“You’re pushing it…” the professor mumbled as she sat down, “Okay… let’s take a deep breath…” she waited until Tabitha actually took one, “… And let’s start from the beginning! Now… what’s the problem?”

“…… I’m getting married…” she told her with a serious look on her face. It was enough for Jamila to go into hysterics.

“That ain’t a problem!! Okay… let’s start with something… more detailed. You’re having problems picking out a dress?” she asked and Tabitha nodded, “Alright; we’ll leave that one alone for right now. What colors are you having for the wedding?”

“I’m supposed to pick out the colors, too?!” she panicked. It was the professor’s turn to put her head in her hands, “I ain’t got time for this! What the hell is the wedding planner for if she can’t pick out the fucking colors of my wedding?! What good are **you** if you’re just gonna sit there and laugh at me?!” she yelled when she saw her friend giggling.

“This is **your** wedding, not mine; it’s not my job to pick out the colors!”

“Fine! What colors did **you** wear at **your** wedding?”

“I didn’t have a wedding; we got married at the courthouse.”

“… You’re kidding me…”

“We didn’t make Bruce Wayne money… we **still** don’t make his money; he couldn’t get me a ring that cost more than our house! Hell; my anniversary ring is still in layaway!” Jamila said, lifting up Tabitha’s hand; she really admired the ten carat platinum ring on her finger. She snatched her hand away and blushed.

“Shut up…” she mumbled, “Wait… what was the point of making IDs if ya gonna have shit in layaway still?!”

“My babies come first; the ring can wait…” she nodded. Jamila lit up, “Hey… speaking of babies… you’re gonna be a mom!” she beamed.

“… Oh my fucking God…” Tabitha slumped down further into the seat; she admitted that she hadn’t thought about the fact that Bruce adopted Robin: when the two get married, she would be his mother, “I… I can’t do it. I can’t do this. I ain’t ready…”

“Seriously?! He’s what, sixteen?”

“… Seventeen…”

“Hell; he’s already been raised! Come on… you know you ain’t gonna let that fact stop you from marrying Bruce!” Jamila laughed. Tabitha shook her head.

“All this planning… it’s too much. I… no. I can’t plan this! Ain’t it bad enough that I’m Monitor?! I’ve been going back and forth between New York and Gotham, fighting crime! Do you know who’s been bothering us lately?!”

“… Joker…?”

“No; some plant bitch who’s been tryna turn the city into some fucking rain forest! Do you know how hard it is to kill plants that come back to life?! And then I gotta deal with Diana’s fucking attitude every time I see her…”

“Well… you **did** take her man from her…” Jamila tried. Tabitha widened her eyes at her.

“What?! They never dated!!” a smile crept on her face as Jamila laughed, “Oh… I fucking hate you…”

 

  
 

* * *

They all watched as the remaining ivy stalks retracted and withered away. The four made sure that they were out of sight as GCPD took Poison Ivy into custody. Tabitha stifled a yawn and prepared to leave; that last battle for some reason took a lot of energy away from her. The only thing she wanted to do was go back home and cuddle underneath Bruce.

Because of her Lightning Cloud, she had refused to travel by vehicle like the others. So it didn’t bother her one bit that Bruce, Robin and Barbara had left, already a mile ahead of her; she knew that she would easily beat them back to the Batcave in seconds. She was just about to do a Lightning Cloud until something caught her eye; there was movement in the museum across from her. In a few seconds, she was already on the roof and looking down into the closed building. Ever since Bruce took over training her, she was learning how to become more perspective; he had told her that being aware and taking note of your surroundings could very well save your life better than any mutant ability would.

It was small but she noticed an opening in the ceiling; it was barely large enough for her to slip through but she knew that it was the one thing out of place: someone was inside, probably robbing the place. She quickly thought about calling Bruce and the others back but figured that by the time they arrived, the burglar would be long gone; this was something she would have to do on her own.

Tabitha did a Lighting Cloud through the narrow opening, landing silently on the ground. She took a quick look around and realized too late that maybe she should have informed the others about what she saw; they would have known the layout of the museum better than she would. She had no idea where to start looking for whoever was inside. Regardless, she started to silently and quickly wander aimlessly around the building. If I was a thief, what would I steal, she wondered to herself. There were numerous items that were worth a lot; Tabitha deducted that since she never had an urge to steal anything, she would have no clue what would entice a thief specifically.

That was Bruce’s expertise, she thought to herself. He was the one who spent his mornings mulling over the newspaper and the internet, looking for anything that would spark a villain’s interest. She remembered a sliver of a conversation a few days ago about something that was on display in the Gotham City Museum. She usually pretended to listen to him, worrying more about the wedding plans but something slightly stuck out about this conversation; Cleopatra’s jewels and other artifacts were going to be on display for a month. It was enough for her to stop thinking about the wedding and wondered if she would be able to take the professor and her children to see the displays.

She lit up as she made her way to where the display would be on the second floor; she was happy that she at least remembered **that**! She hid behind a display case just in time to see a black figure easily make their way through the infrared sensors that surrounded a large display case of jewels. It was a woman, she knew by the curves being shown through the skintight outfit. As the woman finally approached the case, Tabitha knew that she had to make a decision. Approaching the woman at the moment would most definitely trigger one of the sensors; she wasn’t as graceful or even as flexible as the woman.

Or… **was** it something that she wanted to do? Sounding the alarm would stop the thief dead in her tracks, which would make it easier for Tabitha to capture her. She was still exhausted from her fight with Poison Ivy and wanted to make this as easy as possible. Just as the woman placed her hands on the glass case, Tabitha sent a silent stream of lightning towards it. She was glad that she didn’t electrocute the woman as she quickly jumped back… right into one of the sensors. The one thing that Tabitha didn’t account for was for that stream to actually ricochet off of the glass, hit an uncovered crystal amulet and come back to blast her!

The attack surprised her but she recovered quickly enough to give chase. A quick Lightning Cloud and Tabitha was face-to-face with the thief. Her outfit was a black catsuit; she donned a mask that formed cat ears on top of her head. Tabitha smirked; a “cat” burglar, she thought with amusement. The rest of her outfit confirmed that she was supposed to be a cat, with amber-tinted goggles and clawed gloves.

The blaring of the alarm was one thing; now, there was a white-haired woman suddenly in front of her, giving her a smug smile. Selina did a quick backflip out of the way and turned to escape the other way… only to be met by the woman yet again! It was her turn to make a quick study of her; her black outfit wasn’t as skintight as hers but it showed off a bit of her curves. It was the mask she was wearing that made her eyes slightly widen; the modified bat mask proved that she was the lightning woman that everyone talked about: Bruce’s other sidekick.

Tabitha shook her head as the woman tried to escape.

“Yes, I have powers… and it’s obvious that you don’t. Don’t make this harder on yourself…” it had been a while since she had to actually speak to a criminal but she at least remembered to disguise her voice. She went to apprehend the “cat” but was taken by surprise when she did another backflip out of the way and felt a stinging sensation on her hand; she was hit with a whip. She widened her eyes at her, “Bitch!”

Before she could control herself, Tabitha threw lightning at the woman and immediately cursed at herself. She didn’t really want or need to resort to using her abilities, especially against someone who wasn’t a Metahuman. Her three crime fighting partners frowned down on it. Tabitha didn’t blame them; it was an unfair advantage, a cheap way out and would serve for yet another reason for the public to fear and question the Justice League. However, in her defense, she didn’t take too kindly to being hit with a whip!

But something happened that puzzled Tabitha. While she knew she didn’t hit her using her full force, the sudden power behind the attack should’ve been enough to leave an unwanted reminder of her true potential. The thief had braced herself for the hit… but had seemed to shrug it off. She gave Tabitha a small smirk.

“Hmm… I always thought that it would be more painful…” it sounded as if she purred. One of two things just happened, Tabitha tried to reason with herself. The woman’s catsuit was made of rubber, which would have insulated her from the attack, or she really **did** have powers…

It didn’t matter; the woman sounded as if she was teasing her and Tabitha didn’t like it. She charged after her, determined to wipe that smirk off her face. She also needed to make this quick before the guards made their way to the scene; the last thing she needed was to have taken too much time trying to apprehend the thief and end up becoming a suspect herself.

Tabitha’s attack was stopped short as the woman made her whip wrap around Tabitha’s ankle and trip her, all with two flips of her wrist. She landed with a thud but managed to grab the end of the whip, yanking it to make the woman stumble towards her. She had enough of her antics and wasn’t going to be made to look like a fool much longer; Tabitha swung when she was close enough, hitting her square in the jaw.

“Was that painful enough for you?” she returned the smirk. She started to stalk the cat burglar but was stopped short by a flash of light; in the middle of getting upset over the woman’s taunting, Tabitha had completely shut out the blaring alarm: the guards had probably already summoned the police and came to inspect what triggered the alarm.

Tabitha quickly put her attention back to the thief but had noticed that she was already gone. A quick, dark flash caught her attention and she did a Lightning Cloud to catch up with the woman, leaving the guards dumbfounded.

“Sweetheart…” Bruce’s voice in her ear startled her, “Where are you…?”

“Taking care of something…”

“You wouldn’t happen to be anywhere near the museum… would you? Because if you are… that’s not a good place to be right now…”

“Gotta catch me a cat; sorry: tell ya about it later…”

“Wait; a what? Tabitha…” she quickly clicked her communicator to end transmission as she ricocheted herself up the walls and back through the small opening in the roof. Talking to him had delayed her too much; she probably missed her opportunity to catch the thief.

She was glad that the woman was only a few feet in front of her, thinking of her next move. Tabitha threw lightning in her direction for a distraction, making her narrow her eyes at her.

“You’re good, kitty… you almost escaped…” Tabitha came after her. However, she misjudged the woman yet again; no sooner had she got in close proximity, the thief side-stepped her and Tabitha fell flat on the ground: that whip had wrapped around both ankles, keeping her in place. Tabitha took hold of the whip and out of habit, sent an electrical current through it… and was surprised that it didn’t loosen up, “The hell…” she almost let her real accent come out. Before she could do anything else, the woman straddled Tabitha’s back and zip-tied her wrists tightly together.

She felt the whip loosen up off her ankles as the woman grabbed her weapon and went to face her. Tabitha smirked and applied her lightning to the plastic around her wrists… only for **those** not to break as well. She tried again, using more power but ended up with the same results. She gave the woman a confused look as the cat made her way towards the edge of the building. She gave Tabitha one last look and smiled at the sight of the super heroine on her stomach, unable to free herself.

“That’ll hold you for a while… at least until the police get here. Better you than me, girl!” she said. Before Tabitha could blink, the woman jumped off the building, leaving her there to writhe and curse at her predicament. The familiar GCPD police sirens were inching closer and closer, and as Tabitha continued to try her lightning to free herself, she wondered what the zip-ties were really made of. She didn’t expect for the restraints to burst into flames but she at least knew that they would melt!

When she heard footsteps, she sighed and slowly flipped herself on her back. She awkwardly stretched her neck and was relieved to see Bruce, Barbara and Robin. Bruce immediately helped her sit up, looking her over with a confused glance. She gritted her teeth, finally calming down and used her strength to get out of the zip-ties.

“What happened?” Barbara looked at her in amusement. Tabitha rubbed her wrists and groaned angrily.

“The bitch tied me up…”

 

* * *

Bruce watched as his fiancée angrily paced around the console of the Batcomputer.

“Sweetheart…” he tried for the umpteenth time; she continued to ignore him, “Okay… I know that you’re upset… but I can’t help you unless you speak to me…” he looked at her. He was glad that she at least stopped pacing however she glared at him.

“She… tied… me… up; I think I got every right to be upset!” she emphasized.

“I don’t get it; it looked like your lightning wasn’t working…” Barbara noticed. It was enough to make Tabitha groan in frustration. Bruce looked at her.

“Is that true…?” he asked her. She sighed and without warning, threw lightning at him, knocking him out of his chair. Robin and Barbara looked at her in astonishment. Bruce had expected for his body to be racked with pain from being shocked; however, the only pain he felt was when he landed on the ground from the force. He got up and gave her a confused look, “… Your potency… it’s gone…”

“Yeah… I figured that out when nothing happened when I tried to get out of the ties…”

“How… is that possible…?” Robin asked. Tabitha finally sat down and slowly shook her head, looking at the ground.

“… I don’t know…”

“When was the last time you used your lightning?” Bruce put his arm around her shoulder.

“Before tonight? Last week, I think… I was doing an upgrade…” she remembered. Everything was normal about the upgrades she had done aboard Metro Tower; she went through her usual checks and everything came up perfect.

“What exactly happened tonight?” Barbara asked. Tabitha sighed and told them all of the details.

“Wait; what type of crystal?” Bruce immediately stopped her when she mentioned the amulet. Tabitha shrugged.

“I don’t know; I wasn’t tryna take a tour!” she grumbled as he typed on the keyboard. The Cleopatra display from the museum immediately popped up on the monitor.

“Where did it happen?” he asked. Tabitha looked on the screen and pointed to the glass case in the middle of the room. He zoomed out and immediately saw the open display case carrying the amulet, “Not good.” he mumbled as he typed in more keystrokes, bringing up a document.

“… What does that mean?” she looked over his shoulder.

“Apparently, it’s an Egyptian crystal that was believed to carry mystical powers. Those paranormal shops like to carry knockoffs of the crystals.”

“So, you’re saying that this is the only real one…?”

“There may be only a handful that really do have the powers scattered around the globe. Buying up all the crystals would be tedious… and pointless. I can get Zatanna to look into it for us…”

“Wait… you saying that… when my lightning hit that crystal and it came back… it took the power of it away…?”

“Yes.” he looked at her sadly. She just lightly nodded her head and sighed, looking at the floor. She wasn’t too worried about not being able to show the force of her main ability during battle; she was starting to like that she only needed her strength. How was she going to do any type of upgrade without the potency of her lightning?

“… Wouldn’t we need the original crystal to get my power back…?” she wanted the thought to stay in her head; once she asked, she felt slightly foolish. The three looked at her.

“She may be right. It may be holding her power hostage…” Barbara agreed.

“… The only way to find out… is to get that crystal…” Robin looked at everyone.

“Guess politely asking to see the crystal is outta the question…” Tabitha shrugged and got up. She started to put her mask back on.

“… What are you doing…?” Bruce gave her a look.

“Gonna go take that crystal…”

“I’m going!” Barbara volunteered, putting her own mask back on.

“W-Wait; stop it, you two! Did you hear what you just said?”

“I ain’t got no other choice, now do I?”

“We’re not thieves!” Bruce sighed heavily, “And, I can’t believe you were going to go with her; you know better!” he scolded Barbara.

“She… she needs backup… especially if she runs into Catwoman, again…”

“… Catwoman…? Figured that’s what she’d call herself! She’d be dumb enough to go back?”

“No… and you’re not going back there, either!” Bruce looked at Tabitha. She crossed her arms and sighed heavily.

“Fine… I’m going to bed, then…” she turned and immediately left. Bruce sighed and shook his head.

“Nice going, ‘dad’; you’ve gotten mom upset!” Robin rolled his eyes.

“Shut up…” he took in what the young man said and fought his smirk, “You are your mother’s child! What did you expect me to do, let her go and steal?”

“No… but I expected you to have some type of solution to the problem. You know… you **do** know someone who could steal that crystal for you…”

“Go to bed, Richard. And, Barbara… go home…” Bruce sat down at the Batcomputer and studied the layout of the museum. Both teens huffed and left the man to be alone. He waited until he knew he was alone before grabbing his phone. For a teen, Robin almost always had valid points, ones that he never wanted to admit to in his face. He took a deep breath as he heard the rings, hoping that Tabitha would forgive him for what he was about to do.

“It’s late, Mr. Wayne; don’t want your girlfriend getting mad at you…”

“Cut the crap; I need a favor…”

“Ooh; what’s in it for me…?”

“… A free pass…”

 

* * *

For weeks, Tabitha had to deal with not having her lightning ability at its full potential. It pained her to not work on any of the upgrades of either station however the other League members understood completely. Whenever she fought crime, she had to remind herself that her lightning was useless; it forced her to depend fully on her super strength and speed. She debated on simply remaining Monitor.

Bruce saw that she was a bit depressed and wanted to cheer her up; he knew that if she found out what he did, he would be in the doghouse for a long time! He smiled when she heavily sighed at his gift however he knew that it would eventually put a smile on her face.

“Hey! Wait… what’s wrong?” the professor asked. Tabitha slightly sighed over the phone as she made her way to Wayne Enterprises.

“… He bought me a gift…”

“Oh… okay…”

“I don’t want it…”

“Well, then… don’t accept it; what is it? Wait… how much did it cost is what I **should** ask!”

“A little over a mil…” she knew that she would receive dead silence from the other end. Tabitha rolled her eyes and huffed.

“……… Can I have it, then?!”

“Doc…”

“Seriously; what the hell would cost that much and you not want it?!”

“A car. A fucking car; why would a car cost so damn much?!”

“What did he buy you, a Bugatti?!?!”

“A… what? No. It’s called a Hennessey Venom…”

“…… HE BOUGHT YOU A VENOM?! Jesus… do you wanna switch places?! Cuz, I think I can be the super heroine and **you** be the damn professor!”

“Materialistic bitch…”

“Yes!” her response made both women laugh, “You **gotta** come get me in it! You seriously don’t like it…?”

“… Okay… I don’t like how much he paid for it. But… it handles curves like a pro! And, it’s my favorite color…”

“… You’re in it now, aren’t you…? You’re sitting there, bitching and moaning, doing a hundred miles through the streets!!”

“… Sixty-eight…”

“Don’t call me no more…” the professor hung up, making Tabitha laugh fully. She slightly blushed as the valet simply gawked at her new car when she finally made her way to the building.

“Miss… Miss Lyght…” he stammered as she handed him the keys.

“Mr. Wayne will have your ass if there’s a scratch on it…”

“Y-Yes, ma’am…”

When she thought about it, she actually liked the way people in Gotham treated her for the most part. They knew that she was about to be Mrs. Tabitha Wayne and no one wanted to cross her in fear of getting on Bruce’s bad side. She wasn’t going to act the part of the privileged wife of a multibillionaire… but the thought that she could made her smile. She kept her smile as she lightly knocked on Bruce’s office door and let herself in. He gave her a playful look as he stood from his desk, coming across the room to greet her.

“What if I was in a meeting…?”

“I’m Bruce Wayne’s fiancée… I got rights!” she laughed and gave him a kiss, “Besides, you’re the one who called me and told me to come by!”

“Hmm… you’re in a better mood… you drove the Venom, didn’t you…” he looked at her. Tabitha blushed.

“… Yeah…”

“I told you you’d love it!”

“… We may have to buy doc one…”

“I’ll write a Christmas gift list…” he rolled his eyes, making her laugh.

“Alright, Wayne; what was so important to drag me away?” Tabitha asked with a smirk. Bruce returned the smirk and went back to his desk. From a drawer, he pulled out a crystal amulet… the same one from the museum, she realized.

“I’ve already talked to Zatanna and she wants to see us as soon as possible…”

“W-Wait… how did **you** get the crystal?!”

“… Someone owed me a favor. It’s not important right now…”

“Yeah… yeah, it is! Who do you know that steals…” as the words came out of her mouth, she gasped at the realization, “… You know Catwoman…?!”

“Tabitha…”

“That car… that car was a peace offering! You… you actually thought that a fucking car would make this better?!”

“No; I got the car because I thought you would like it… and that it would put you in a better mood. There was no way I was going to let you or Barbara or even Dick go out and steal something…”

“When you’re already friends with a thief… **why** are you friends with a thief?”

“We’re not friends; nowhere even near it! She owed me a favor… that’s all.”

“This ain’t right… I don’t want it. The crystal **or** the damn car!”

“Would you be reasonable for once? How else are we going to get your powers back?!”

“Maybe I don’t want ‘em back!”

“Tabitha…” Bruce heavily sighed, “How are you going to do repairs and upgrades without the potency of your lightning…?” he asked sincerely. She simply huffed as he wrapped his arms around her, “I’ll take the car back, if that’s what you really want. But… the power of your lightning is what you are, now. And… what good is a superhero without their super powers…?” he smiled when she wasn’t tense in his arms anymore. Tabitha fought a smirk; she was actually surprised that he had remembered what she said when she was going through her memory loss. She knew that he was right; her lightning powers were a part of her, now: without the potency of them, she was only half the super heroine she once was.

She let out a sigh and looked at him.

“I still say it ain’t right… but I guess what’s done is done…”

“Thank you…” he breathed and gave her a passionate kiss. Tabitha wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a slight smile.

“… Who is she…?”

“No.”

“No…?”

“You’re not going to ruin this moment…”

“Ruin… what moment?”

“The one that involves me… and you… and that desk…”

* * *

She thought that it would be as simple as Zatanna saying a chant and the powers that were locked in the crystal would be transferred back to her. Tabitha bit her lip as the leggy magician studied the amulet, said a quick chant and then frowned at the crystal.

“What? What’s that look?”

“I’ve never seen this before. The magic in this crystal is really ancient. It’s as if… it’s holding on to your power…”

“Which means… we brought it to you for nothing…” Tabitha sighed and rolled her eyes.

“No. I can reverse the spell but… you will have to be connected to the amulet in order to use the potency of your powers, again…”

“… Connected… like how…?”

“You’ll have to wear it.” Bruce slightly shook his head. Tabitha studied the crystal; the gem was just as big as Zatanna’s hand.

“… Could you make it smaller? That thing’s gaudy; it’ll attract attention…”

“But, wouldn’t that make it lose the power?” Bruce looked at the crystal. Zatanna shook her head.

“No. Cutting a crystal doesn’t make it lose its power. As long as it doesn’t shatter altogether, it will be fine.” Zatanna explained. Tabitha sighed.

“Guess it’s better than nothing…”

 

* * *

She slightly sighed as she teleported the group to their destination; she would’ve joined them however she had upgrades to tend to. She knew that it was for the best; before she knew it, she would be back in the field. Tabitha was about to get to work, going to retrieve her toolbox.

“Mom…”

“… You really gotta call me that?!” Tabitha rolled her eyes at Robin’s voice.

“It feels weird to call you ‘Tabitha’… the Bat Signal was seen.”

“Alright; I’ll go meet the commissioner…”

“I’ll meet you there.” Robin announced. Tabitha looked at the time and shook her head.

“You still have school…”

“Really?!”

“Yeah, really! You and Barb better stay there… or you’re grounded…”

“You’re worse than Bruce! What if you need help?!”

“Highly doubt it but you’ll be the first to know! I mean it, Robin; I don’t wanna see you there! I’ll beat you!”

“… You’re serious; you’d hit me?!”

“Like a redheaded stepchild!” Tabitha smirked. Robin groaned out in frustration before disconnecting, making Tabitha laugh. She knew that she couldn’t bear to strike him; the thought made her giggle. She was glad that Clark was around as she turned to leave, “I gotta go to Gotham; Bat Signal.”

“Okay. Need any assistance?”

“Nah; should be a piece of cake!” she waved as she teleported herself to Gotham. She quickly smoothed her mask over her face before making her way to the rooftop of GCPD. Commissioner Gordon looked in slight surprise at her.

“… Where’s Batman…”

“He’s on a mission. I think I can handle his affairs while he’s gone…” she gave him a smile. He smiled back and shook his head.

“Not to doubt you but… you’re going to need all the help you can get! There’s a riot going on at Arkham.” he explained. She wanted to drop her head in defeat; Tabitha knew that Gotham’s most insane criminals were considered residents in the two-story building. She also knew quite a few who were currently incarcerated at the moment; Poison Ivy being a recent resident. She slightly sighed.

“The police?”

“We’ve barricaded the entrance but Dr. Arkham won’t let anyone in…” the commissioner explained. Tabitha silently cursed in her head; she knew of only two people who were able to break in and/or out of the asylum with no problem: Batman and Robin.

“… I’ll handle it. Just keep everyone at the entrance.” she announced and immediately left the rooftop before he could reject. Tabitha quickly tapped at her communicator.

“So, you **do** need some help!”

“Wipe that stupid grin off your face or I’ll hit you for real; I **know** you’re smiling! I need you and Barb at Arkham like… twelve minutes ago!”

“And… what if I say no? Remember; you threatened me…” she could tell that Robin was fighting laughter. She smirked.

“I’ll tell your father where you really were last Friday…” Tabitha bit her lip to keep from laughing as Robin scoffed.

“You’re like the meanest mom **ever**!”

The only thing GCPD saw after briefly speaking to her was a streak of lightning heading towards the Arkham Asylum. She didn’t know why she was so worried about trying to get in; with a quick touch, the electronic keypad that kept the doors locked was shorted and Tabitha made her way inside. She didn’t like going into a situation blind but didn’t have a choice in the matter. Tabitha had actually hoped that the rioting inmates had made their way down to the first level; she didn’t know how Robin and Barbara would be against a horde by themselves. Making her way inside the reception hall, she smirked as she saw a small handful of inmates holding the staff hostage. She didn’t recognize any of the men and figured that they were a few of the “common” residents. Only one carried a handgun and he waved it wildly in front of the terrified hostages.

She was glad that she didn’t simply react first and ask questions later; the armed patient was already unstable as it was. Tabitha concentrated and aimed her lightning towards the gun, knocking it out of his hand with precision. As everyone looked on in puzzlement, Tabitha quickly counted the residents and smiled; only six: she could handle them. As quickly as the gun was knocked out of the man’s hand, Tabitha did a Lightning Cloud towards him, a right fist connecting to his face before he could blink. Tabitha made quick work of the others in the same manner, attacking the men before they had time to even figure out what had hit them. She looked at the hostages.

“Is anyone hurt?” she was glad that the small group was simply shaken up, all shaking their heads, “Good. Follow me.” Tabitha led the group to the door. She walked out first, signaling for the police to hold their fire as she let the former hostages out to safety. While one group grabbed the employees, another rushed inside to secure the main lobby. Just in time, as the inmates from the top floor began to crowd the area. Tabitha cursed in her head, wishing that she had at least taken Clark up on his offer. She lit up however when she saw Robin and Barbara in the mix of the chaos, doing their best to contain the disorder. Tabitha had to remind herself not to use her ability to its full potential as she touched one of the residents, shocking him unconscious. She finally made her way towards Robin.

“We don’t need you here; stop the rest from coming down…” he grunted as he fought off an inmate. Tabitha gave him a slight nod, doing a Lightning Cloud to the top floor. She was glad that she didn’t have to fight as much on the second floor and made quick work of the small group that attempted to make their way down the stairs. Tabitha knew that she had to figure out the source of the breakout however she had no idea of where to look first.

“… Tabby?” a familiar voice barely reached her ears as she was making her way through the corridor. She stopped and turned to the voice, widening her eyes as she saw who was looking right back at her through the glass cell.

“… Ethan?! Wha… what are you doing here?!” she quickly approached the cell. The former detective could do nothing but give her a warm smile.

“Didn’t Bruce tell you that I turned myself in?”

“Y-Yeah but… they put you in **here**?!”

“… Quite fitting for the criminally insane…” he almost mumbled. She could say nothing as she solemnly stared back at him; there wasn’t anything that she could say. Tabitha felt bad that it was decided Ethan Bennett belonged in Arkham however she had no case to argue that he belonged elsewhere. Commotion from the other end of the dank hallway drew her attention away from her ex-boyfriend; Tabitha gave him an apologetic look.

“I… I gotta go…”

“Wait! Please… let me help you…”

“… What…?”

“I can help you.”

“I… no. I’m not gonna let you out…” she made the painful decision.

“I know my way around here; you don’t!” he announced. She stared into his brown eyes, seconds from backing away, “Please!” he pleaded. She knew that he was right; she had no idea about the layout of the institution. With Robin and Barbara taking care of things on the lower level, there was no telling how long it would be before one of them would make their way back up to assist her; Tabitha needed a guide of some sort.

She let out an exasperated huff as she easily yanked the glass door away from its reinforced hinges. Ethan gave her a thankful smile as he made his way out however not before being slammed hard into the wall. Tabitha glared at him.

“I swear to Christ; you fuck me over on this and I’ll…”

“I-I-I won’t; I promise! I just want to help; I miss you!” her glare softened slightly at his words. She reluctantly released her grip on him and gave him a quick nod as he led the way, “Where do you need to go?”

“… I don’t know. Where’s Dr. Arkham?”

“… Your guess is as good as mine’s!” Ethan looked over his shoulder at her, “I’ve heard that he’s just as insane as the basic resident… if not more…”

“Great…” Tabitha rolled her eyes, “So, he could’ve started this whole mess…”

“Possible.” Ethan nodded. Before he could say another word, Tabitha did a Lightning Cloud past him to the small group of unruly inmates. He watched in awe as she handled each one with ease, one by one, giving each one a small jolt to knock them unconscious, “… Wow…”

“What? That’s right; you never seen me in action before! Eh; that was nothing…” she gave him a wink and a smile.

“How’s everything up there?” Barbara’s voice entered Tabitha’s ear.

“Easy; I got it…”

“We got Dr. Arkham. Reinforcements are coming your way to handle everything else…”

“Really?! Damnit… I didn’t get to do nothing!” she sighed out. She looked towards Ethan, who was simply looking at her, waiting on their next move. She couldn’t explain what came over her at that moment; all she knew was that it didn’t feel right that he was put in the asylum, “Alright; well, there’s a bit more cleaning up to do up here; I’ll meet you when I get done…” Tabitha immediately ended transmission and yanked the communicator out of her ear, “If someone makes it outside… what are their chances of escaping?”

“It… depends on the security… and the person. A normal person would have a problem; a mutant wouldn’t…” Ethan told her. She held her head down slightly and nodded; she could get into a tremendous amount of trouble for what she was about to do.

He was about to ask a question when Tabitha suddenly grabbed him. She glanced up towards the ceiling, being thankful that she saw a vent; she catapulted the two through it with a quick Lightning Cloud. Before Ethan could blink, the two were on the roof of Arkham. He gave her a bewildered look.

“Tabitha… what…”

“… You don’t belong here. Go; go in hiding, leave Gotham: I don’t care. Just… leave…”

“Tabby…”

“But, I swear to Christ: if anyone says something about me helping you… I will haunt you down… and you won’t like it…” she glared at him.

“I would never betray you. Thank you…” he grabbed her hand gently, making the woman slightly blush. Something caught Ethan’s eye and studied the ring on her finger, “… You’re getting married…?”

“Wow; they don’t let you guys hear nothing about the outside world…?”

“Not maximum security…” he shook his head. Ethan let out a slight gasp and let go of her hand, “You’re engaged to Bruce?! But… why…?”

“This ain’t got nothing to do with you. I love him… and he loves me; why shouldn’t we get married?”

“It just makes me wonder… if you had feelings for him all this time…”

“Wait; you’re really asking me this? Right now?”

“You’re right; I’m sorry. Well… I hope you have a happy life, Tabitha.”

“… No…”

“What?”

“I didn’t have feelings for him when I was with you… and fuck you for even thinking that!” she slightly glared at him.

“I’m… I’m sorry, Tabby…” he was about to explain to her until he saw something out the corner of his eye. Before he could react, Selina’s whip wrapped around Tabitha’s ankles, pulling her hard to the ground. She gave the lightning woman a cruel smile.

“Of course, you’re here and Batman isn’t…”

“Bitch…” Tabitha glared at her. She grabbed hold of the whip and yanked her towards her, charging up.

“Hmph; you must have short term memory: that’s not going to wor…” Selina was abruptly stopped short as she felt the painful sting of lightning that traveled through her whip. She immediately released her weapon and gave Tabitha a surprised look. Tabitha slowly smiled as she got back on her feet.

“My, my, my… things certainly have changed… haven’t they…?” before Selina could blink, Tabitha was in her face. She attempted to push her but Tabitha grabbed her wrist and gave her a small shock, “You will **not** get the best of me… ever again…” she delivered a hard blow to Selina’s stomach, sending her tumbling across the roof. Tabitha went for another attack until Selina quickly got back on her feet. Tabitha easily blocked a kick and retaliated with an open handed jab to her chest.

“H-How…?” she coughed out. The lightning woman took another swing and was surprised that Selina dodged it.

“You really thought I’d go without my powers for long?” Tabitha actually wanted to cringe; she knew that it was because of the cat burglar that she was able to regain the potency of her abilities: she had no desire to admit it to her.

She saw that Tabitha was charging up and went in to distract her. She was surprised that the woman blocked nearly every blow; the ones that **did** land had little effect on her.

“You… you fight like him…” Selina quickly noticed; the last time the two met, she had quickly subdued her. Tabitha shrugged away the potential comment, refraining from making a sarcastic comeback. She responded instead with a sudden roundhouse kick, applying her lightning into the blow. Selina flipped from the impact but landed lightly on the ground, actually balancing herself on her fingertips. She looked up at the woman who was slowly stalking her, “You’re wearing his mask…” she flipped out of the way before Tabitha could step on her.

“I’m a part of his team so… duh!”

“No, you’re…” she knew that it was risky but she studied the lightning woman slightly. Selina flipped towards her whip and quickly grabbed it, immediately cracking it towards Tabitha. Her eyes widened as Tabitha grabbed the end of the whip, wincing faintly. She was actually glad that the woman yanked her closer; she was able to get a closer look at her hand. Her jaw slightly dropped before she could control it, taking in the size of the ring on Tabitha’s finger. She knew of only one person who could afford a ring that large and it wasn’t the woman who was charging up in front of her!

Selina held on to her end of the whip tightly and kicked Tabitha in the face, making the woman let go of the weapon. Ethan had finally left his trance and decided to put himself in the battle, turning into his clay form. Before Selina could retaliate, he wrapped his clay appendages around her, locking her in place. Tabitha eyed him strangely.

“W-What…”

“Don’t worry about it; just… go! We’ll call it even…” he told her. Tabitha gave him a reassuring look before turning around to leave the building.

“No; stop! Get back here! You **do** know that you’re just one of the many women on his list… Tabitha…” Selina’s lips curled slightly as she saw the woman stop dead in her tracks. A second later, she disappeared from the roof.

Tabitha was just in time to join Barbara and Robin as they handed Dr. Arkham over to the police. Barbara gave Tabitha a look over.

“… Everything okay…?”

“…… Yeah…”

“Everything’s taken care of here.”

“G-Good… meet you at headquarters, then…” she mumbled. The two youngsters nodded, leaving as Tabitha watched as the police started to pack up and leave, themselves. She glanced back at the roof, wondering if the two were still there, a slight shudder going through her body. She wondered exactly who Catwoman was… and how she had figured out her identity. She looked down slightly, the glint from her engagement ring capturing her eye. Tabitha let out an exasperating sigh and finally made her way back to the Batcave.

“… Fuck!”


	6. What Goes Around...

“Tabitha, do you mind going to Watchtower? Wait… why did I have to ask you; haven’t you been hearing Wally?” Clark asked. Tabitha rolled her eyes, pulling her communicator out of her ear.

 

“… Turned it off; he’s been bugging the shit outta me since I sat down.”

“It could’ve been an emergency…” the man of steel folded his arms. She shrugged and picked up her soda.

“If it was, Mike would’ve called in… not Wally. Which means… it’s something minor… and Wally just wants to bug me!”

“Tabitha…”

“I’m going, I’m going!” she slightly laughed and started to leave the room.

“Are you okay…?”

“… Yeah; why you ask?”

“The soda. You don’t drink sodas…”

“Oh! Sprite; my stomach’s kinda queasy. Think there’s something going around…”

“Do you need a couple of days off? I could get…”

“I’m fine; I’m good! It’s just… well… I can’t expect you to understand; you’ve probably never been sick before…”

“Once.” he surprised her. Tabitha gave him a smirk.

“A sick that didn’t have to do with Kryptonite exposure…”

“As I said… it happened once. It’s… a long story. But, to shorten it: I gave up my powers for a brief moment; I came down with a nasty flu bug shortly afterwards.” he explained. Tabitha simply looked at him.

“Wait… why did you give up your powers?”

“For love.”

“Huh. Kinda crazy, you gotta admit…”

“What, that I would give up my powers for love?”

“Nah; that’s actually romantic… in a sappy way! That the moment you became one of us… you came down with the flu! Learned your lesson?”

“You’re telling me that you wouldn’t give up your powers for Bruce; to be normal… like him?” his question surprised her.

“Well, first off… Bruce ain’t normal! Maybe for your standards! But, I guess… I guess I would.” she softly said. She knew that he would never ask her to give up her abilities unless they had become hazardous to her health. However, Tabitha had always longed to be normal; although she had grown so used to being a Metahuman, the thought still lingered.

“A lot of times… I feel that I would definitely do it again. So, yes; I understand.” he finished. Tabitha simply nodded.

“I’m good. It’s just a little stomachache; I can work through that…”

Before she could materialize onto the teleportation pads, Tabitha rolled her eyes; she knew for certain that a disgruntled Wally would be waiting on her in the control room. As the usual dizzy spell hit her as the room came into focus, she took a few deep breaths to clear her head. She found it odd that the spell had lingered for as long as it did, actually making her even sicker to her stomach.

“You know; I shouldn’t even say anything to you! I **know** that you were ignoring me on purpose!” Wally immediately scolded. Tabitha hadn’t heard a word as she bent down to stop the room from spinning, “… Tabby? You okay…?” he rushed over to his friend. She knew that it was inevitable and managed to pull off a Lightning Cloud to the nearest restroom. The queasiness had increased tenfold, climbing up into her throat. Tabitha barely made it inside one of the stalls before she started to retch.

Diana looked curiously at Wally as he stood by the women’s restroom, attempting to listen through the door.

“Do I really want to know why you’re lurking by the women’s restroom?”

“It’s… it’s Tabby. She’s throwing up…” at the first mention of her name, Diana started to roll her eyes. However, she had a quick change of heart hearing that she had become suddenly ill, “I know that teleporting still bothers her but… she’s never thrown up from it…” Wally finished. Diana gave him a quick nod and made the decision to check up on the woman. The moment she entered the restroom, her ears were bombarded by the awful sounds of Tabitha vomiting coupled with failed attempts to cover up sobs. It was the crying that actually bothered Diana enough to make her want to help out.

“… Tabitha…? Are you okay?” her voice made Tabitha cringe; she was the **last** person she wanted to talk to as well as let see her in that pitiful state. Her vision was still blurred and the stall seemed to spin as she tried to gather her composure.

“… I-I-I’m fine… fucking… stomach virus…” she sniffed. She had become frustrated at her sudden illness; the only other thing her body let her do to vent was cry.

“…… I’m sorry that you’re ill…” Diana had to admit that while she was still highly upset over the announcement of the engagement, a part of her still cared for Tabitha. She let out a sigh, “… I’m right here if you need me…” she made up her mind. After the gala, Diana had time to think about what Tabitha had said as well as reanalyze her reaction to the news. She didn’t think that she would ever get over what she felt was a slight betrayal; it wasn’t as though she had never told Bruce how she had felt about him. She didn’t know how to react or how to even feel; for as long as she could remember, he had been adamant about not dating colleagues. So, why did he start dating Tabitha; what made her so special to make the Dark Knight break his strict credence?

There were two things Tabitha mentioned that had stayed with Diana since that night; she highly doubted that she would ever stop thinking about them. She knew that Tabitha was absolutely right, albeit she had a cruel way of saying it: if Bruce really and truly wanted to be with her, he would’ve broke his code for her a long time ago. Whatever he saw in Tabitha was something that Diana couldn’t hold a grudge against, not anymore.

What Diana had said almost made her forget that she was sick; Tabitha fought to hold in the little contents that remained in her stomach to make a puzzled face.

“W-Wha… why would you… do that…”

“… Because I still consider you my friend.” she surprised her even more. Tabitha willed herself to get up and open the stall door. Diana saw that she leaned on the frame for support and helped her.

“You’re supposed to… hate me…”

“… I did. And I can’t take back how I feel about Bruce. But, I will let you know that… you were right. If Bruce wanted a romantic relationship with me… it would’ve already happened by now. I was wrong to snap at either of you the way that I did. It was just… Bruce knew how I felt about him. But, instead he chose you. I felt… cheated, so to say. And that bothered me… a lot.” she led the lightning woman to the sinks so she could wash up. When she was finished, Tabitha looked up at the Amazon.

“I ain’t special… I don’t know why he chose me over you…”

“That’s something only he knows. You can’t fault me for hating him, Tabitha. I figured that I would rather feel that way than to be mad at you; what were you supposed to do, not fall in love with Bruce?”

“… I could’ve… cuz I knew that…”

“No; that’s not fair to you. Now, don’t count on me to be super excited about the two of you getting married; I’m not signing up to be a bridesmaid! But as a colleague… and a friend… I will respect your happiness.” she continued to explain. Tabitha could only look at her with a mix of relief and amusement.

“… Thank you…” it was her turn to surprise the Amazon as she gave her a hug.

“Oh… you’re burning up! Come on; let’s take you to the infirmary…”

“The what? No… I’m good; I already know what I got. They ain’t gonna do nothing but tell me to get some rest and fluids!”

“That’s a good idea, then…” Diana hoisted her friend over her shoulders.

“W-What the hell; hey! Put me down! What the hell you doing?!”

“I know you, Tabitha Lyght; you’d leave here and go back to work!” she made her way out of the restrooms. Wally quickly backed away and stared at the two.

“What the…”

“Wally; help! This bitch is fucking kidnapping me!!”

“I am **not** kidnapping her and… did you just call me a bitch…? Anyway; she’s being put under quarantine: she has a stomach virus. Go to the infirmary for some fever reducer and meet me in her old room…” she ordered Wally.

“This ain’t helping my stomach being upside down like this!!”

“Well, maybe if you’d stop squirming, this wouldn’t be so unpleasant! And if you throw up on me, I **will** drop you!”

* * *

“Barb, I need you…”

“… W-W-What…?” the redhead blushed furiously as Tabitha grabbed her by the hand.

“I need your help…” she sighed out and sat Barbara down in front of the Batcomputer, “Wait… why you blushing?”

“Oh! It’s… n-n-nothing…”

“Nuh uh; tell me…”

“I… I can’t…”

“What? Why not?”

“… You’d look at me funny… and… I don’t want things weird…” she tried to explain. Tabitha leaned against the console and eyed the teen strangely.

“I don’t get it; why would it make things……… oh… wait… oh, shit; Barb!”

“I-I know that we’re a team and I really, really respect you so I never wanted things to be…”

“Just, shut up for a minute…” she had to take a moment to analyze things, “… You like me…? Like, **like** me, like me…? But, I thought you and Robin…”

“And, he’s really hot, you know? B-But… so are you…”

“W-Wait… stop. Barbara…… I like men; Bruce in particular!”

“… I know…”

“I mean… I’m flattered but… wait… you know that you’re underage… right…?”

“… I know… so… things are weird, now?”

“… No. Cuz nothing will happen. I’m sorry. You’re too young for me… and I’m taken…”

“So… if I was older and you weren’t with anyone…”

“Maybe…” she answered before she thought. Although Barbara continued to blush, the idea made her smile, “W-Wait… that’s not what I… uh… y-you… things ain’t weird, alright?! Just… would you just do me a favor?!”

“What do you need for me to do?”

“I need you to find out who Catwoman is; she knows who I am…”

“… What?”

“Yeah; think she saw my ring… well, I **know** that she saw my ring! I’m just saying; she could be anyone but… I gotta feeling she was at that gala. Think you could get a list of all the women that were there…?”

“… I could but… I won’t need to…”

“… You know who she is, already… don’t you…?” Tabitha slightly glared at Barbara. She shied away from her glance and looked down at her hands, “Barbara… who is she…?”

“Okay… once I tell you, you have to promise me that you won’t…”

“Barb!”

“It’s Selina Kyle.”

“…… What…?” Tabitha stared at her in disbelief before slowly shaking her head, “No… you’re kidding me…”

“Afraid not. Now, Tabitha..."

"Son-of-a-bitch!" she stormed out of the Batcave. Barbara hopped out of the chair to follow her inside the manor. She had hoped that Bruce wasn't at home however she cringed when she saw him in one of his dens.

"Tabitha, you promised!" Barbara yelled after her. As Bruce looked up at his fiancé, he was met with a fierce slap to the face. He held his cheek in half shock and half pain, staring at Tabitha.

"You... you fucking knew!" she glared at him, attempting to control her breathing.

“… Tabitha… what…?”

“Bruce, this isn’t my fault; she was going to find out, anyway…” Barbara tried to hurriedly explain.

“I don’t even know where to fucking begin! You know what; take back the car, take back the fucking ring: take back every-fucking-thing!!” she ranted. Tabitha removed her engagement ring and flung it towards a confused Bruce.

“W-Wait… what happened…? Tabitha…”

“I am so sick and tired of folks keeping shit from me!! You thought that you’d keep me quiet and happy by giving me a fucking car; a car that I didn’t want in the first fucking place?! You thought that you could just buy me off?!?!”

“Sweetheart, I seriously don’t know what you’re talking about; I never thought that I could buy…”

“Don’t! You lost that right to call me ‘sweetheart’! I know who she is, Bruce! And, fuck you; fuck you, fuck you, fuck you for making her a part of our lives!! I tell you what; she can stay a part of yours: I don’t want her a part of mine’s!!” she continued to fume. When she turned to storm away, Bruce quickly… and unwisely grabbed her by the wrist; he received a painful shock for his insolence.

“Would you please just stop for a moment?! I don’t know who you’re talking about; no one’s a part of our…”

“You put Catwoman in our lives… on purpose! Oh, I’m sorry; I meant Selina-fucking-Kyle!!” her outburst made his eyes widen, “Yeah; how long were you gonna keep **that** from me?! She fucking knows who I am!! Guess you’re gonna tell me that’s what I get for wearing that ring, huh?! Cuz, oh yeah; she was here when you gave it to me!! Well, you ain’t got to worry ‘bout **that** no more; I’m done!!” she turned to angrily wipe at her fresh tears. Bruce could do nothing but stand there and look at her.

“Tabitha… I know that you’re upset right now… and I don’t blame you for it. But, you’re saying things that you probably don’t mean so maybe you just need some time to cool off. Hopefully, after you calm down, we can talk about this…”

“No! I don’t need no time to think about nothing; ain’t nothing you can say to make this better!! That bitch was right; I was just another name on your list of women!”

“Wait; she said that to you…? Why would she… Tabitha… that isn’t true at al…”

“Go to hell, Bruce Wayne!! Go to fucking hell for making me a fucking… statistic!! You can keep your pie and eat it, too!!”

“It’s actually… wait… Tabitha… damnit, woman; I’m not sleeping with Selina Kyle! Is that what you really… Tabitha!” he called after her however it was too late; the lightning woman had stormed out of the room, nearly tearing the doors off of their hinges as she slammed them. Barbara carefully picked up the engagement ring, holding it for Bruce to snatch out of her hands.

“Aren’t you… going to go… after her…?” she asked meekly as he angrily plopped back down in his chair.

“Stubborn, stubborn ass fuc…” he let out an exasperating sigh, “She’s fine. Just… let her cool off; she’ll come back and want to talk…”

* * *

Diana knew that the situation at hand called for some sort of intervention. Any other woman in her position would had jumped at the opportunity to attempt to reel Bruce in. However, she knew that no matter what her feelings were, they were both her friends; she couldn’t bring herself to stoop to such levels.

She didn’t believe the slight rumors that were floating around both Metro Tower and Watchtower; that the caped crusader and his fiancé had called it quits. It wasn’t until she spotted Tabitha making herself comfortable in one of the rooms in Metro Tower; Wally confirmed all that she needed to know a couple of days later. For almost a month afterwards, the signs of the breakup started to show slowly but surely; the looks that they gave each other whenever they were around (or the slight sneer that Tabitha gave out and the reluctant glance from Bruce) and especially the fact that Tabitha would assign Bruce to more and more missions, almost making sure that he wasn’t around her as much.

Diana had actually had enough of whatever games the two humans played; she simply wanted things back to normal, even if it meant for the two to get back together. Although she still carried feelings for Bruce, she admitted that it wasn’t worth to see either of them as unhappy as they were at the moment. For all that she knew (or actually highly suspected), the two wouldn’t even speak to one another; she knew that she had to do something to at least get them to talking once more.

Tabitha looked up from her plate and gave Diana a forced small smile; Wally and Jamila’s badgering had taken its toll on the lightning woman however she didn’t want to show it.

“I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to ask you for a favor…” Diana surprised her; Tabitha was sure that she was going to ask about the rumors of the breakup.

“Oh… okay…”

“… I want to surprise Clark… for his birthday…”

“Oh… oh, shit; his birthday **is** coming up!” she had been too busy trying to avoid Bruce that she had nearly forgotten.

“Just something small. I figured we could set up something at the Fortress of Solitude. Give him a few gifts, make him give you a tour…” she continued to smile. Tabitha thought about it and gave her a slight nod.

“Sounds good, actually. I’ve always wanted to see that fortress of his. Huh… that’ll give me an excuse to finish working on his gift. When we doing this?”

“Next week. Thanks, Tabitha; this will mean a lot for him.”

“… Really…?”

“He gets somewhat depressed around his birthday. Sure, he has his Earth parents but… we’re actually his only friends. Seeing us doing something nice for him… he always cherishes those moments.” she explained. Tabitha could do nothing but nod.

“Ah… okay. Well, then count me in, of course! I’ll have his gift ready by next week!”

Tabitha was surprised the next week to find that she would finally get on board Diana’s invisible plane (dubbed for its cloaking device) to travel to the Fortress of Solitude instead of teleporting there; something that she was actually glad for. Her joy was short lived as she saw who was approaching the two.

“… Aren’t you supposed to be on a mission?” she didn’t hide her disdain. Bruce let out a sigh and slightly narrowed his eyes at her.

“Wally is more capable for the mission…”

“That ain’t your decision; it’s mine!”

“Seems to me that you’re suffering from a lack of good judgment these past few weeks… as well as a level head…”

“What… the hell did you say to me?!”

“Um, guys: Clark’s birthday…?” Diana stepped in between the two. Tabitha glared at her.

“I don’t appreciate that he undermined my decisions!”

“Founding member, Tabitha; if you would stop being such a child and pay attention to reason…”

“No one said nothing to **you**!”

“You know what; let’s just go! I thought that you two would at least be civil for Clark’s birthday!” Diana mumbled as she climbed into her plane. She looked at the two League members who just stood there, “Sometime today…?”

“Nope; ain’t happening!”

“Tabitha… do I have to remind you that I’m stronger… and can carry you over my shoulder… again?” the Amazon narrowed her eyes at the woman. Bruce shot a curious look over at Diana.

“… You had to carry her over your shoulder…?”

“She got sick; I wanted to make sure that she would behave.” Diana shrugged but continued to look at Tabitha. Bruce looked at her.

“You were sick? When were you sick? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Oh, we’re gonna act like I’m the only one keeping secrets?”

“That isn’t something that you should keep from me!”

“I didn’t know you were a doctor…”

“Could you two just continue this on the way to Clark’s…?”

After five more minutes of bickering, the three finally were on their way to the Fortress of Solitude. Diana took notice of the gifts.

“That’s a nice sculpture. Of course, you made it yourself?” she asked Tabitha, who beamed.

“Yep! Didn’t take me as long as I thought it would. The hardest part was tryna figure out what type of steel to use. Tee suggested an alloy steel; he said that it was easier to work with. Gotta like being friends with a physicist!” she studied her own sculpture; an abstract figure of twisting steel rods. Bruce turned to study the piece; he had always admired her work and gave it a small smile of approval. Diana warmed up at the sight; she had hoped that one of them came to their senses! She huffed and rolled her eyes at the envelope he was holding in his hand.

“… You gave him money… didn’t you…?”[1]

“What? He’s hard to shop for! Besides, what **do** you give the man who has everything?”[2]

“Maybe you could’ve gotten Selina to give him a lap dance…” Tabitha spitefully mumbled. It was enough for Bruce to widen his eyes and shoot a look behind him while Diana held her head in her hand and sighed heavily.

“You… infuriating, stubborn woman; how many times do I have to tell you that I haven’t slept with Selina?! Do you want to know the last time?!”

“Nope; pretty sure I can read it somewhere… probably a book all about Bruce Wayne and the women he’s fucked! What chapter am I; twenty-three?”

“Tabitha… never in my life have I ever hit a woman… but don’t make me come back there and shake you!”

“Bring it, ‘batboy’! You step a fucking pinkie toe back here and this statue’ll go so far up your ass…”

“STOP!! That’s ENOUGH! That’s it; no more words, from **either** of you! For the love of Hera; and I thought I was doing a good thing by trying to put you two back… it’s not worth it…”

“Wait, you tricked us…”

“I meant it, Bruce; no more speaking! Not to me, definitely not to her! **Both** of you are being childish and stubborn and I’m not going to sit here and listen to it!”

“How am **I** being…” Tabitha started however she received a hard glare from the Amazon. She leaned back into her seat, crossed her arms and huffed.

Diana’s plane emerged from underwater and Tabitha was awed at the sight in front of her; the start of a white crystal cavern. The three made their way through a tunnel and found themselves in the main room of Clark’s Fortress of Solitude.

“Happy birthday… what the fuck is that?!” Tabitha stopped dead in her tracks as she noticed Clark in the middle of the room. A seemingly happy expression was plastered on his face however he stood as if he was paralyzed, unaware of his surroundings. What drew Tabitha’s immediate attention was the purple plant-like object affixed in the middle of his chest, its tentacles slightly wrapped around his torso and neck.

“There’s been a breach…” Diana almost gasped as the three quickly approached Clark. Bruce immediately started to pry the object off. He looked at the women.

“You two go and investigate…”

“No; I think I can get this thing off of him…” Tabitha shook her head and started to charge up.

“Tabitha!” Bruce glared at her. She narrowed her eyes back at him but before she could open her mouth, Diana grabbed her and the two went to investigate. Diana glanced at her and shook her head.

“Why won’t you be reasonable with him? He cares so much about you…”

“If he cared, he wouldn’t have lied!”

“He technically didn’t lie; he just kept something from you: something that he felt wasn’t important.”

“Telling me that his ex, who knows who I am by the way, is Catwoman ain’t important?! He invited her to that fucking gala; how else am I supposed to react?!”

“You’re supposed to trust his judgment. Besides; who said that she was invited? She’s Catwoman; she finds ways to get inside a building!” she explained. Tabitha could only give out a small huff; Diana had a point, she realized. Yet again, she had been too quick to pass judgment instead of hearing what the man had to say.

Her thoughts were interrupted as a blast shattered the side wall, hitting both women with large chunks of debris. Tabitha groaned out in slight pain, her vision half blurred from the impact. She forced herself to move and focus only to feel a heavy hand wrap around her throat and lift her from the ground. Without looking, she quickly retaliated, giving whoever it was a powerful shock.

“I’m surprised you still have some fight in you.” the unfamiliar voice stated. Tabitha’s vision finally came back and she was looking into the red eyes of Mongul’s. She remembered his image from the simulator machine however she tried for another attack. It only made him flinch and wrap his hand around her throat even tighter, “You are starting to annoy me…” he glared at her. Tabitha glanced over to her right and saw that Diana was limp in Mongul’s other hand; so much for backup, she thought. It was then that it dawned on Tabitha; they were both knocked around by the debris… and she recovered quickly. She knew that Diana was stronger than her, able to endure much more force than she could… Diana was playing possum. Tabitha half pretended to struggle (this version of Mongul was far more potent than the one from the simulator machine; his grip around her throat was starting to cut off her air supply) and finally passed out, “Hmph; just as I thought… weak…” he mumbled as he carried the women away.

Bruce continued to study the plant embedded onto Clark’s chest; he had long since stopped trying to pry the thing off. Whatever it was, he deducted that it was indeed a parasite, the way that it had the Man of Steel locked in place. He had no idea what it was sapping out of him or even how it came to be; all Bruce wanted to do was to save Clark.

He looked up from the current scan he was doing as he heard thunderous footsteps approach the two. He narrowed his eyes at the figure but then gasped when he saw who he had hoisted over both shoulders: Diana and Tabitha.

“… You!” he slightly backed away from Clark, trying to make sense of the scene.

“If this is what Earth’s mightiest heroes have to offer… then my quest for world domination will be easy! Even with your… ‘super powers’, you are an inferior species!” Mongul gloated. Tabitha opened her eyes slightly to see if Diana would give her some sort of sign. She was glad that Diana indeed had her eyes open, giving her a slight nod. A smile crept on her face as Diana gave Mongul a swift kick to his face. He yelled out in slight pain as Tabitha charged up with all of her might and struck him; the move was enough for him to release both women.

“The last time someone called us inferior, they got their ass whipped!”

“… Actually, they just underestimated us because we’re women…”

“Eh; **still** got their asses handed to ‘em!” Tabitha shrugged and charged up yet again. Bruce stepping in between the three stopped her from releasing her lightning, “Move, ‘Bats’…” she grumbled.

“How did you get in here?!” he really wanted to stall; he needed to find out more about the parasite that was planted on Clark.

“That was oddly simple enough; Superman’s time spent on this puny planet has lowered his awareness: I simply… followed him…”

“What’s that on his chest…?” Tabitha nodded towards the plant.

“It’s called the Black Mercy, a very… interesting plant. Once it attaches itself to you, you’re put into a dreamland of whatever your heart truly desires…”

“So, he’s dreaming…?”[3]

“Oh, it is far more sinister than you think!”

“I’ve heard enough…” Diana surprised everyone in the room as she went on the immediate attack. Tabitha charged up and hit Mongul with a series of lightning strikes, attempting to keep the villain distracted long enough for Diana to do some damage to him. as the three crash into another wall of the fortress, Tabitha sadly realizes that their attempts to subdue the monster were futile; even with the two women together, they were no match for him.

Bruce grumbled but put his attention back on the Black Mercy; he knew that even at full power, neither Diana nor Tabitha were a match to Mongul. He had a vague memory of the first time that Tabitha had ran through their simulation program aboard Watchtower; the “Mongul” there was an estimation of his powers on a level twelve programming: she was battling the real, unpredictable deal. He wanted to help out but knew that someone had to be there to help Kal-El; Bruce had no idea of the limitations of the plant but figured that if it was to keep itself attached to its victim, it would sap the very life out of them.

He knew that Clark was stuck in some sort of dream world but had no idea exactly what. However, he was envisioning a place where he wasn’t known as Clark Kent but simply Kal-El, from the House of El. A simple farmer on Krypton, he had awaken in the arms of his beautiful wife, Loana. She had resembled someone from elsewhere however, he put that thought in the back of his mind as she greeted him with a simple kiss. Kal-El debated on not getting up to tend to his daily chores; he had this simple yearning to stay in her arms longer. However, his home AI attendant, Brainiac humbly interfered with that notion, reminding him, as it always did of what he had planned for the day.

Bruce continued the effort of prying the parasitic plant off; his hopes peaked slightly when he felt it trying to give way. It was slighter than an inch however it was more than what it was giving him before. He strained and tried to talk Superman out of his dream trance, telling him that whatever he was seeing wasn’t real; all the while, he cringed at the sounds of the destruction going on deeper into the Fortress. His thoughts went back to Tabitha; she was being irrational and stubborn but that didn’t change the fact that he was worried about her. He understood her anger towards him; he should’ve told her that Selina Kyle was also Catwoman. However, he never imagined that she would figure out that Tabitha was Nikki; it didn’t even dawn on him that the two would cross paths without him being present! But, he couldn’t undo the past; his problem now was how to resolve the present.

Diana wanted to check on her younger friend, who Mongul easily slammed into another wall, leaving her dazed and injured. He smirked and shrugged at the sight of Tabitha’s bruised and bloodied body.

“I admit, she packs quite a punch for a human…” his attention suddenly went towards Diana, who found herself in Superman’s weapon room. Mongul simply smirked at the weapon in her hands, “Oh, dear. Is that a neural impactor? I didn’t know that they were still making those. I’d advise you to try the plasma disruptor; it’s more of a woman’s weapon…”[4]

“That son-of-a-bitch…” Tabitha found the strength to get up.

“Go… to… he…” Diana fired the weapon before she could finish her sentence.[5] The blast sent him through another wall back into the main room where Bruce was making more progress with the Black Mercy. Clark’s face expression changed with every attempt, with the sounds of destruction transferred over to his “dream” in the forms of earthquake-like tremors. He had even started to hear Bruce’s pleas and finally realized that what he was seeing… was indeed a dream. He held his son, Van-El in his arms as he watched his planet slowly die in front of him, letting him know that he would never forget.

With one more forceful pull and grunt, the Black Mercy finally released its hold on the Man of Steel and he became fully aware of his surroundings. Tears in his eyes and hate written across his face, he turned to face Mongul, who had recovered and was about to go after Diana yet again. With lightning fast reflexes, Clark rammed into Mongul, forcing him back into the other room. The others were about to join him until Diana noticed the Black Mercy quickly picking its next victim; Bruce. Tabitha gasped and made her way towards him.

“B-Bruce!!” she tried however it was too late. His face went from a registered look of shock to one of slight joy, his dream world immediately unfolding. He watched as his father, Thomas Wayne, turned the tables that fateful night, getting the courage to beat up the man whose intent was to murder the Wayne parents, Joe Chill. He happily lived out the scenes as he grew up, not to become Batman but the illustrious businessman that is Bruce Wayne.

Her fears climbed into her throat as she watched the Black Mercy writhe against his chest. She charged up, determined to get the plant off but quickly thought against it. Superman would be able to take the full force of her lightning, Bruce Wayne would not; she would end up killing both the plant and him. She grabbed at one end of the plant while Diana busied herself with the other half, as they both attempted to pull it away. Bruce was unaware of anything wrong… until he came across a woman who seemed so oddly familiar to him. Immediately smitten by her, he watched as she worked her magic on one of his security towers, strands of her medium brown hair always getting in her light brown eyes. Everything from there was a whirlwind; the two dated, got engaged, got married and made Thomas and Martha Wayne the proudest grandparents Gotham City had to offer. It wasn’t until one day, he woke up and saw that Tabitha’s hair had changed. It was no longer the silky brown that he had fell in love with but snow-white. The more he studied it, the more things started to change. It had dawned on him that… her hair had always been white, for as long as he had known her. Where were her lightning powers? Where was… the Justice League? Why was his parents still alive?

The two women finally pulled the Black Mercy off of Bruce’s chest. As he collapsed on the ground, Tabitha wrapped him in her arms. Diana rushed over to where Mongul was getting the upper hand on Superman, with the Black Mercy in tow. Before he could finish him off, Diana grabbed his attention, throwing the plant towards him. As it attached itself to Mongul, Diana helped Clark out of the rummage.

Tabitha simply looked at Bruce, tears forming in her eyes.

“I thought…”

“… That you lost me…? It’s going to take more than just a plant to kill me…” he faintly smirked. He remembered the dream state that the Black Mercy put him in and it pained him. He couldn’t do anything as far as the loss of his parents… but he was certain that he could do something about the other half that he had seen, “Tabitha… I’m so sorry that I never told you who Selina was. I’m just… so used to keeping secrets… and keeping to myself for the most part…”

“N-No. Well… yeah, you should’ve told me! But… I kinda overreacted…”

“… ‘Kinda’…?”

“Look, Wayne; you want my apology or not? Cuz I can just leave you here on the fucking floor…” she smiled when she saw the glint in his eyes. She straightened her face and looked at him, “What did you see?”

“I saw… you. There was no Selina, there was no Diana… or any of the fifty million other women that everyone claims I’ve slept with. It was just… you. That’s what my heart really wants.”

“Bruce…”

“So… do we… start from the beginning or pick up where we left off…?” he asked. Tabitha could do nothing but smile as she leaned down and gave him a lingering kiss, “Hmm… picking up where we left off; I have no problem with that!”

“So… does that mean they’re back together…?”

“Thank Hera!” Diana rolled her eyes. Clark let out a slight laugh. He watched as the two walked over towards them.

“Ah… guess a tour is outta the question, now…”

“I have no problem with that. Don’t mind the mess, however…” Clark wearily smiled at Tabitha. The four looked over at where Mongul was frozen in his place, a light smile playing on his face.

“Huh… I wonder what **he’s** seeing.” [6]

“Whatever it is… it’s too good for him…”[7] Bruce told Diana.

* * *

[1]-[2] Paraphrased from Justice League Unlimited episode, “For the Man Who Has Everything”

[3]-[7] Taken from the Justice League Unlimited episode, “For the Man Who Has Everything”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo Hoo! Back with this story! :D Just a little note that wasn't put in the footnotes; Superman mentioning that he lost his powers was referenced from the Superman II movie (the late Christopher Reeve one). Memory's kinda foggy for that one but I think that he went to Jor-El in the Fortress of Solitude and requested to lose his powers all for Lois Lane. I remember him getting beaten up by some lousy truck driver in a small diner and him holing himself up in his apartment because he came down with the flu! Can't remember how he got his powers back but he did!


	7. The Last Straw

She was grateful as her head hit the pillow, the softness of the sheets drifting her into almost immediate sleep. Tabitha had a rough night; after a slew of small missions, her day ended with a one-on-one with Mr. Freeze. She was confident that she would be able to take care of him herself; she never expected to fall victim to his ice ray. Luckily for her, Tabitha thought quickly and unthawed herself with her lightning. The effect of being trapped in ice remained even after the fight; the only thing she looked forward to was a warm bed.

She was too tired to feel Bruce shift beside her; she knew that he would eventually wrap his arms around her and fall back to sleep himself. Tabitha had to admit that they both slept better whenever they slept together; she dreaded the nights when they weren’t able to. Tabitha had slight thoughts of easing her workload for a while in order to enjoy more nights like that.

“…… I’m hungry…” the whisper was enough to make her open one eye and cringe. She thought against shifting, making her displeasure known. If she pretended not to hear him, maybe he would fall back asleep, she reasoned. Bruce Wayne would have to get up and get the food himself!

“…… Please… I’m hungry…”

“Go to sleep!” she nearly growled.

“Hmm…?”

“I don’t care ‘bout you being hungry right now…” she mumbled. Bruce stretched and gave his fiancé a sleepy look.

“What?”

“I’m tired; all I wanna do is sleep! I don’t wanna hear about you being hungry!” she told him, pulling the blanket over her head.

“… Are you talking in your sleep…?”

“… Gotta be sleep to do that; you’re pushing your luck, Wayne!”

“But, I didn’t say anything.”

“Ha, ha; very funny! Goodnight, Bruce!”

“Okay… goodnight…” he shrugged and cuddled beside her; Bruce made a mental note to talk about it in the morning. Tabitha huffed out a relieved sigh and began to doze off.

“…… Aren’t you hungry…”

“Gaddamnit, Bruce!”

“What?!”

“If you don’t leave me the hell alone, I’m gonna shock you! I mean it!”

“I haven’t done anything! Are you okay?” he halfway sat up. Tabitha snatched the blanket off her head and glared at him.

“I really ain’t got time for games! Five hours, okay? Can you give me five hours of fucking sleep and **then** I’ll fix you whatever you want?!”

“Tabitha… I haven’t said anything. Seriously; is everything okay with you?”

“You didn’t tell me you were hungry?”

“… No.”

“You ain’t been whispering to me?”

“I was sleep until you yelled at me. I don’t think that I talk in my sleep. Maybe you’re stressed and just… hearing things…” he tried to explain. She softened her look as she studied his face. His facial expression was one of genuine confusion and concern; he may have been right.

“I… I guess so…”

“You didn’t come across Joker tonight, did you?”

“No. Just that Freeze guy. He just… hit me with that ice gun.”

“So no gas or anything like that. Maybe you’re so tired that you’re hearing your own thoughts. It can happen. When was the last time you ate?”

“I dunno; lunchtime?” she shrugged. Bruce gave her a small smile and a caress on her shoulder.

“Go eat. Alfred made chicken gnocchi.”

“Chicken what?”

“Pasta. In a wine sauce. It’s pretty good.” he lightly pushed her out the bed. She rolled her eyes but made her way down to the kitchen. It made sense, she told herself. Now that she was in the quiet of the manor, she realized that her stomach was indeed rumbling. Tabitha would eat whatever chicken gnocchi was and then let her body succumb to sleep; she seriously thought about letting Metro Tower know that she would be on call. 

* * *

Ramil and Ashley appeared in front of Tabitha, waiting for further instructions.

“Uh… reporting for duty…?” Ramil looked at her. Tabitha turned away from the console to give him a smirk.

“Smart ass! Kal-El needs our help…”

“Seriously? He’s Superman…”

“I don’t wanna take no chances. He actually asked just me for assistance… which is a lot to be said about the situation!” she said to Ramil.

“Yeah… you’re right!” Ashley noted.

“Figured you two needed more time in the field. Plus, the three of us work well with massive attacks.”

“Delivering and receiving!” Ramil smiled.

“So, that’s the plan?”

“Pretty much. Help Supes out as much as we can on top of keeping the civilians safe. Alright; let’s go!” Tabitha ordered and the three left.

They weren’t prepared for what was in front of their eyes. Metropolis police had a few streets blocked off as they and onlookers watched Kal-El battle Killer Frost and Heat Wave. He was overwhelmed as Killer Frost blasted him with an ice beam while Heat Wave used his flamethrower.

“This is convenient! I got the flame guy, of course…” Ramil rolled his shoulders.

“I’ll run distraction. Oh! Yeah, excuse me officer?” Tabitha tapped one of the police officers on his shoulder, “You might wanna get these people out of here; there’s about to be a lot of fire and ice and lightning… and stuff like that!” she smiled as she charged up. She jumped over the barrier, following Ashley and Ramil. Ramil wasted no time as his hands focused on the stream of flames that hit Superman in the back; he reversed the stream back towards Heat Wave.

“What the…” the flame stream pushed him back a few feet, making him land on his back. Ashley did the same with the ice beam. Killer Frost looked back and gave both women a sneer. She threw an ice blast towards the two, with Tabitha doing a Lightning Cloud out of the way. Ashley took a balanced stance as she maneuvered the wave away from herself and the onlookers.

“You got her?”

“Yeah; piece of cake…” Ashley nodded towards Tabitha.

“Cuz apparently the police can’t do their damn job!” she noticed that no one had bothered to move away from the barriers. A series of screams drew her attention to a small, dispersing crowd, “Shit.” she had a bad feeling and followed the crowd. She tried to pinpoint what they were running away from, wondering if they finally got the point that things were dangerous for them.

“…… Watch out…” the whisper was heard even over the screaming crowd.

“Wha…” she turned just in time to see a ray of ice coming towards her. She pushed a few people out of the way, barely dodging the ray. Tabitha narrowed her eyes in the direction of the ray; she saw that Captain Cold had Lois Lane in one arm, his ice gun in the other. Without warning, she did a Lightning Cloud and was in his face. The slit visor hid his eyes but she was pretty sure that he was shocked!

Tabitha kicked the gun out of his hand, the sting that she delivered made him let go of Lois. Before he could recover, her fist connected with his face; she didn’t hesitate to add her charged up electricity to it. To make sure that he was completely stunned, she gave him a lightning charged uppercut. The hit sent him flying a couple of feet back, landing with a hard thud onto the concrete. Tabitha grabbed him as the police and the other League members showed up.

“Aw, man; you laid him out and I missed it?!” Ramil complained.

“Captain Cold… and Heat Wave… why were Wa… Flash’s enemies causing trouble here?”

“Maybe to get him to come out. It’s why I called you and not him for assistance. Good call to bring Reign and Blaze with you.” Kal-El looked at her. Tabitha shrugged and smiled.

“All in a day’s work! Do I need to call for cleanup?”

“No need. The damage was small. You three didn’t break a sweat…”

“…… I can’t always protect you. Not from here…”

“Nikki?”

“Huh, what?”

“Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah. So… right… we’re on cleanup patrol. No problem.” she mumbled.

* * *

“Anything else to discuss?” Kal-El looked around the room at the rest of the founding members. Everyone shook their head with the exception of Bruce. He gave out a small sigh before looking up at the man.

“Yes. A reevaluation of Tabitha’s mental state.” he suggested. It caught everyone’s attention.

“Something wrong with Tabby?” Wally asked.

“I haven’t noticed anything strange or off…” John noted.

“She’s… hearing voices.”

“… What?” Diana asked.

“We’ve gone through a lot of tests and it’s nothing chemical. Jamila’s ruled out the strand. I believe it’s mental.”

“What are the voices saying to her?” Diana asked.

“Surprisingly, nothing alarming. They’re almost like… reminders. To eat, get some rest; things like that. But the voices aren’t her own, I don’t believe. The first time it happened, she told me that they said ‘I’m hungry’ and then asked her if she was hungry as well.”

“Maybe… do you think it’s J’onn?” Shayera asked.

“We all know he wouldn’t do something like that. She would’ve known if it was him. At least the voices aren’t telling her to do anything bad. But, still; it’s odd that she’s hearing them. J’onn would’ve been the best one to reevaluate her. Maybe Dr. Fate could…” Kal-El thought aloud.

“Maybe she needs a shrink.”

“Wally!” Diana glared at him. He shrugged.

“What?”

“I think Wally’s right. None of us are qualified but… I know a psychologist.” Bruce offered. Kal-El looked at him before finally nodding.

“Let’s get it arranged. That makes me think: we’re all always under a lot of stress because of what we do. It may not be a bad idea if everyone could get an evaluation every now and then.”

“That’s not a bad idea. We had annual mental evaluations in the Corps and then some whenever you were up for promotion. It was to make sure that you were fit for whatever job you had.” John agreed.

“Do you think your psychologist would agree to that?” Kal-El asked Bruce. He smirked.

“I’ll see what I can do…”

* * *

It was the last place she wanted to be and she continued to curse in her head. She had a feeling that Clark was trying to tell her something; she didn’t buy the “mandatory for all members” clause he threw in her face. She had really hoped that Bruce hadn’t opened his mouth about the voice she was hearing. However, if she wanted to stay with the Justice League, she would have to comply.

She sighed before opening the door where a small office setting greeted her. Nothing out of the ordinary; just a room with cream walls. There were a few certificates hanging up, along with a few drab paintings but no windows. In the middle of the room was a beige desk where a woman looked up at her and smiled. Her strawberry blond hair brushed past her shoulders in curls and her blue eyes sparkled as she smiled; the woman was actually beautiful.

In front of her desk was a similar colored chaise lounge. Typical, Tabitha thought. She was caught off guard as the woman got up from the desk and shook her hand.

“Tabitha? It’s good to finally meet you. Dr. Chase Meridian.”

“… Oh… I take it some folks been talking about me?”

“The founding members do speak highly of you. I’ve recently taken on the task of evaluating the Justice League periodically. Have a seat.” she waved towards the chaise lounge as she made her way back to her desk. Tabitha simply looked at it.

“Uh… do I have to?”

“Well… whatever makes you more comfortable? You can lay down, you can stand up… you can sit on the floor! You’re nervous…”

“Big understatement!” Tabitha huffed out.

“This session isn’t meant to be intimidating.”

“But… you’re gonna be analyzing my every move. So… if I lay down, you’re gonna jot down that I’m troubled. If I sit on the floor, you might tell ‘em that I’m wacko!”

“It sounds like you watch too much TV! There’s no way for me to psychoanalyze you just by how you choose to relax!” the woman nearly laughed. Tabitha sighed a bit as she finally sat down.

“So… I gotta tell you all my deepest, darkest secrets?”

“You tell me whatever you feel like telling me. How about we start off with how long you’ve been with the Justice League.”

“Oh… um… about five years now? It’s been… well, adventurous!”

“Do you enjoy it?”

“Yeah. I mean, if I didn’t, I wouldn’t still be there! Ain’t like it’s something you literally signed up for! I could leave if I wanted to.”

“Do you participate in a lot of the fighting?”

“Well… no. I pretty much assign who I want to do that. I do more of it now though but… I’m pretty comfortable being Monitor.”

“Something changed? Was it that you weren’t allowed before you became Monitor?” she asked. Tabitha’s eyes widened a bit before she looked away.

“Uh… well… I had a… slightly possessive boyfriend… ex-boyfriend. But, he actually meant well…”

“He was a superhero. Was he abusive?”

“W-What?! No! He was… the opposite. He didn’t want me out in the field cuz he didn’t want me to get hurt.”

“I see. So… he had the authority to prevent you from fighting. Which means… he’s a founding member. Interesting.”

“Wait… you ain’t gonna put that down where someone can see that… right? I don’t need folks knowing…”

“Unless it’s detrimental to your health or to the well-being of the other superheroes, everything stays here. Tabitha… why is he your ex-boyfriend?”

“If… if I told you… you’d definitely know who he is!”

“Be general, then. Nothing specific.” Chase explained. Tabitha thought about how she should word it.

“He… he invaded my privacy… and I freaked out. But, by the time I calmed down and wanted to talk things over… it was too late. He left…”

“Do you want to talk more about that or…”

“No; it’s in the past. Let’s talk about something else.” she rushed. Chase nodded as she wrote.

“Would you rather be out in the field more?”

“… Yes and no. Look… it ain’t all about that. I just do what it takes to make things right. If that means that I gotta stay behind and instruct folks then… that’s what I’m doing. I… every time I tried to be the hero… things got fucked up. So I’d rather be helping others than doing it alone.”

“So, you had a superhero complex but now you don’t.”

“A… superhero complex…?”

“It’s a term that evolved once superheroes and Metahumans became known. There are people out there, your regular people, who develop this hero complex. They feel the need to be some sort of savior. They see someone getting mugged, they immediately interfere, not worrying about the risk. It gets more complicated when a super human gets this complex. A lot of times, they’re physically able to be at so many places at any given time.”

“So… they get the need to save everyone… because they can.”

“Right. The problem is this: most superheroes may be able to do this without fail. So, what happens when there’s that one time where they **can’t** save someone?”

“…… It’ll be enough to make ‘em give up.”

“It was a good thing that your ex-boyfriend hindered you. Not to say that it made you used to failure but… failure didn’t affect you as badly as it could have. I see that you’re afraid to fail and that’s maybe the reason why you’re fine being behind the scenes.” she stopped and looked at Tabitha. The lightning woman sighed.

“Alright… I don’t like failing but who does, ya know? It fucking sucks. But… I used to have this problem with rage. They said that it’s something to do with my new DNA.”

“What would happen?”

“… I dunno. I mean, I know that I killed but that’s what people told me. I’d get I guess over emotional and then I’d black out. I’ve learned how to control it but… there’s been times where I’d get to that one point. Right before I black out.”

“You don’t like getting to that point. So, you want to avoid anything that will provoke that feeling. If you now recognize the feeling, you’re more than capable of stopping it. What are you afraid of?”

“… One day… I’ll just say ‘fuck it’ and let it ride through. That the one day I do that, I end up killing innocent folks. It was one thing when I couldn’t control it; everyone was so willing to forgive and help me out. But… if I just let it happen… that makes me a villain. I don’t wanna be a villain…” she mumbled.

“How would you feel if… it couldn’t be helped?”

“… What…?”

“What if you had to choose to let a few innocent people die in order to save millions?”

“That’s a fucked up scenario to ask about!”

“Let’s face it, Tabitha; it’s bound to happen. It may have already happened numerous times. So… would you sacrifice those few lives to save the world?”

“Damn… I’d rather talk about my ex than this!” Tabitha shook her head and laughed a little. She had never thought about situations like that before. Those decisions were left up to the founding members, she felt. She would always voice her opinion, try to come up with a better plan however it was ultimately their final say, “I don’t think that decision would be left up to me…”

“I think that as Monitor, it very well could be. You’re taking a risk with other people’s lives…”

“Wait… is that why I’m here? Superman don’t think I can handle being Monitor?”

“He thinks that you’re doing a great job… he just doesn’t think that **you** see it.”

“So, he wanted you to get in my head to find out why? All you gotta do is straight up ask!”

“Okay, Tabitha. Why do you feel that you’re not good enough to be Monitor? Weren’t you trained by the previous…” Chase stared at Tabitha. A slow smile appeared on her face as she nodded, “The previous Monitor was your ex. The problem isn’t your confidence. Maybe we shouldn’t avoid talking about your ex…”

“I really don’t…”

“He seems to be the root of your problem, Tabitha.”

“I don’t **have** a problem; I’m over it!”

“Are you really? Do you find yourself getting angry or upset at the mere mention of his name? It’s what I’m sensing.”

“No; you’re wrong! He ain’t got nothing to do with anything! A few months ago? Maybe… yeah. But, not now! I’ve moved on; I’m getting married!”

“Do you really think that becoming Mrs. Wayne will solve all of your problems?” she slightly surprised Tabitha. She finally took the opportunity to lay back on the chaise, shaking her head.

“You know all of our aliases… don’t you?”

“I do… but I also know how to read. Tabitha… how long have you’ve been hearing voices?” she caught her off guard yet again. Tabitha sighed and looked away; her initial instinct was right: Bruce had told Kal-El.

“… It’s just one voice… I think.”

“You think?”

“Cuz they whisper. So, it’s the same tone. It ain’t like I hear voices all at once, jumbled up. It’s clear… like if I’m in a quiet room and someone whispers.”

“Are they telling you to harm yourself or others?”

“No. Which… is weird. Well, not that I’m depressed. But… I always thought that ‘those’ voices always told you to do bad things. This one… it’s like… daily reminders to do stuff. I get so busy that I forget to eat. So by the time I get home, I ain’t thinking about that; I just wanna sleep. But that voice… it will either tell me that it’s hungry or that I need to eat. About two weeks ago: I’m out helping Superman and the crowd just goes ape shit. I got this feeling that it wasn’t right, ya know? So, I follow ‘em, tryna figure out what’s wrong. That voice told me to watch out. I turn and there’s this beam of ice coming towards me! Wally, he knows all about these guys. He told me that had I not moved, I woulda been frozen to death… literally!”

“It sounds like it’s your voice of reasoning. For some reason, it’s become magnified to where you can literally hear it. That’s an underlying effect from stress, Tabitha.”

“So, what; I should meditate or something like that?”

“You need to take away the element that stresses you out. How you go about that… is up to you. I can only provide suggestions.”

“Are you telling me to quit the Justice League? That ain’t happening! Cuz if I don’t fight with ‘em, I got other people I could fight with. I can’t just sit on my ass and be Mrs. Wayne!”

“I never said that the Justice League was that element. Is that what you feel? That the Justice League brings you the most stress?” Chase asked. Tabitha rested her forearm over her eyes and sighed. They couldn’t be; she was in a comfortable position within the League. No one pressured her; no one hindered her. The only one she truly answered to was Kal-El and he pretty much left a lot of the decisions to her.

“No. They don’t. I’ll… figure it out…”

* * *

“There you go, Miss Lyght! And please: remove your ring before work next time! We don’t want that happening again!”

“Y-Yeah… thanks…” Tabitha mumbled as she examined the ring. She placed it back into the box and dropped it in the small shopping bag. As the two leave, Barbara gave Tabitha a smile.

“Maybe you shouldn’t wear it until you retire from the Justice League…”

“Shut up!” she lightly pushed the redhead, “Since you’re skipping and all, might as well make it a day. Wanna get something to eat?”

“Yes! I’m starving! Oh…” Barbara stopped dead in her tracks. Tabitha followed her gaze and narrowed her eyes at the sight of Selina in front of the two. She saw the beginning of lightning forming around the woman’s hands and immediately backed away.

“Look, I don’t want any trouble, Tabitha!”

“Then, what you doing here?”

“I want to bury the hatchet… and not literally.”

“You… calling a truce? Yeah, right!” Barbara spoke up for Tabitha. Selina sighed.

“Neither of us are in costume; why would I start something in broad daylight? My fight is with Bruce, not with you. It’s never been with you.”

“Oh, yeah? The museum…?” she narrowed her eyes at her. Selina sighed.

“That was business. It’s what I do. You were interrupting my job.”

“Well, as long as you make it your business to rob, then it’ll always be personal. What we supposed to do; turn a blind eye?”

“Most of the time, Bruce does. But, I have to admit: although I don’t like that you’re about to be Mrs. Wayne… you coming after me makes things exciting…”

“… What…?”

“You’re a very exciting… and beautiful woman, Tabitha. You actually think that I nabbed that crystal for Bruce?” Selina closed the gap between the two, tracing the outline of the crystal around Tabitha’s neck, “I know you won’t believe me but I felt bad about what happened. Wasn’t it very convenient how you ran into me at Arkham?”

“W-Wait… w-what?” Tabitha’s eyes widened. Selina leaned in closer to her ear, smiling as she spoke.

“I’m the one who started the riot. I knew you would show up…” her words made Tabitha drop everything in her hands as a blush crept onto her cheeks.

“Whoa; what’s… going on…?” Barbara asked.

“Careful…” Selina bent down to grab the bag, “I just wanted to let you know that. So, no hard feelings?” she asked however she didn’t give Tabitha a chance to answer. Barbara gasped as she watched Selina pull Tabitha close and kiss her. Tabitha quickly pushed her away.

“W-W-What the fuck, Selina?!”

“Hmm… I expected some sort of… spark from you. But, it was still sweet so…”

“D-Don’t you **ever** do that, again! I don’t… go that way…”

“Too bad. Are we still letting bygones be bygones?”

“Yeah, whatever. Just… if you kiss me again, I’m shocking the shit outta you!” Tabitha glared at her. She gave her a smile as she walked past the two.

“Noted.” she gave her a seductive look before turning back to leave. Tabitha could do nothing but blush heavily as Barbara gawked at the two.

“So… you mean to tell me that it’s that easy? All I had to do was…” Barbara leaned in towards Tabitha. Her eyes widened but she started to swat the teen away, “Ow, ow, ow; it was a joke!”

Selina couldn’t wipe her smile away, especially as she glanced at the ring in her hand.

“Didn’t think it would’ve been that easy…”

Bruce gave his fiancé a smile as she walked into the study. His eyes lit up at the bag in her hand.

“Good; I was hoping that you would stop by there. What’s wrong?”

“What? Nothing.” she quickly answered before giving him a lingering kiss.

“… Okay. Well, hopefully, that will be the last time you take the ring to get repaired…”

“You gonna give me shit, too, Wayne?”

“Yes.”

“You’re terrible…” she smirked, pulling the small box out of the bag, “Guess it’s a good thing I love you!”

“Wait… you finally admitted it? Are you running a fever?” Bruce playfully placed his hand on her forehead.

“Such a smart as… what the hell…?” Tabitha opened the box only to find it empty, “It’s… it’s gone…”

“What?”

“The ring; it’s fucking gone!” she panicked.

“Okay; it’s okay…”

“No, it’s **not** o-fucking-kay!”

“Did you bump into someone? Did you show it to anyone?”

“I don’t know nobody here to do that!! Wait…” she felt her core temperature rise, “Oh… that bitch. That fucking conniving, thieving ass fucking bitch!!”

“… You ran into Selina… didn’t you…”

“She took my ring, though?! She had the fucking nerve to kiss me…”

“Wait, she kissed you…?”

“...all to cover up that she was taking my gaddamn ring!! Fucking bitch…” she started to storm out of the room.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa; Tabitha… sweetheart… let it go…”

“No, I can’t let that shit go! She took… my fucking… ring!!”

“I can give you another engagement ri…”

“THAT AIN”T THE POINT!!!!” she glared at him, making him immediately back away; he remembered the last time she was that upset. Bruce didn’t want to feel any more jolts!

“Can I at least make a suggestion?”

“If it don’t involve hunting her down, I ain’t listening! Hold up… you got her number. Call her!”

“Tabitha…”

“Where’s your phone…” she went through his pockets and grabbed his phone, “I’m only gonna ask you once: give me your password.”

“That’s… not a question; that’s a demand.”

“If you don’t give me… your gaddamn password to this phone…”

“No! You really think she’s going to answer? Just… calm down and think! Or better yet, calm down!”

“You know what? I don’t need your help! Barb knows how to track her down…”

“Tabitha… don’t make me get Clark to calm you down.” he gave her a hard stare. It was enough to make her finally calm down.

“You’re gonna tell me to wait. That what she did wasn’t important…”

“You don’t think this upsets me? Of course it does! But, I know you. If you go looking for her now, you’re going to kill her. And for what? Over a ring? It’s not worth it; it really isn’t.”

“So… you want me to let her win?”

“Win what? Her taking the ring is going to stop us from getting married? We could go downtown right now to do that!” he smirked. He was glad that he saw a small smirk from her and hugged her, “If you go after her right now, then she won.”

“Fine!” she huffed out, “But, if I see her in the street before I calm down… it ain’t gonna be pretty!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chase Meridian made her appearance in the Batman Forever movie.
> 
> Captain Cold and Heat Wave are a part of the Rogues villain group, the Flash's enemies. Killer Frost is an enemy of Firestorm.
> 
> Selina kissing Tabitha was taken from the New 52 JLA comic book, issue 2. Selina actually kisses Steve Trevor in order to keep him from knowing that she was really picking his wallet from his pocket!
> 
> Yep; I'm back! ^_^


	8. Decisions to Make

She told Bruce that she would let it go however she just couldn’t. The fact that Selina had stooped so low bothered Tabitha. She knew that it wasn’t truly about the ring; it was the act of taking something Bruce gave to her. She found herself wishing that the woman had taken her amulet instead.

Everyone felt that it was indeed silly and childish on Selina’s part to take the ring. No one was surprised that she did it; the other League members tried to convince Tabitha that she should just let things go. The longer she avoided her, not tracking her down, the quicker Selina would realize that her “deed” was done for nothing. At the very best, she had an expensive ring to pawn or sell outright; keeping the ring would only remind her that Bruce wanted nothing to do with her.

Those facts still didn’t deter Tabitha from thinking about the whole situation. The vile woman had even kissed her; Barbara’s goofy smirk would be a constant reminder of that! Not only did she have to “hear” it from the teen, her own best friend gave her opinion about the situation: “You’re just a villain magnet”! Tabitha was glad for once to hear that voice in her head; it constantly told her to calm down.

After speaking with the psychologist, Tabitha tried her best to figure out what was stressing her out in her life. She had to admit that it was a mixture of everything, things that she knew would normally not bother her as much. She had a feeling that if she left the Justice League, she would eventually stress herself out; Tabitha didn’t want to feel useless. She didn’t want to feel as though she was missing out on the best highlights of her life.

Maybe it was her relationship with Bruce. Was she genuinely happy with him? She cared a lot about him… but that feeling started when they were good friends. Was she seriously ready to settle down with him or was he simply someone who kept her from being alone? There was no doubt in her mind that she loved him; Tabitha just didn’t want to figure out her true feelings for him a day or two before their wedding!

The “voice” had died down; Tabitha realized that she wasn’t taking good care of herself. She started back to eating at least three meals a day, got at least six hours of sleep and even went back to exercising and keeping in shape. Maybe it wasn’t the stress that came from being in the Justice League nor the stress of being a billionaire’s fiancée; maybe she just needed to take better care of herself. The one thing that bothered her, however was that she noticed how tired she would get after a strenuous mission. She eventually concluded that because she toned down on using her abilities, her body was getting reused to using its natural strengths.

Bruce took noticed that his future wife was going through a bit of a change. He knew that she would always think about what Selina did. But he was glad that she didn’t retaliate. Even still, something else was bothering her. She was starting to train more and eat better, even get a healthier amount of sleep every night. However, her moods were almost erratic; even with decent sleep, there were days when little things made her upset in a tremendous way. Dr. Meridian let him know that there wasn’t anything mentally wrong with the lightning woman aside from her hearing that voice. Bruce had a feeling that her mutant DNA strand, regardless of what Dr. Lindsey stated, was behind her mood swings and exhaustion span.

 

* * *

 

“So… is this a business visit or…” Jamila let the two inside her home. Tabitha gave her a slight smirk as she thrusted a bridal book towards her.

“Kinda both!”

“Oh, God; **that** shit again!” the professor rolled her eyes and laughed.

“We gotta have that conversation again about how it’s your job to help me?!”

“I technically don’t **have** to help you; I’m only responsible for the bachelorette party!”

“Wh… you’re throwing me a bachelorette party…?”

“I was going for a superhero theme. Seemed only right. Ooh… throw in some cops… heh; serve and protect indeed…”

“Oh… my God…”

“Don’t mind me; I’m just the groom who’s listening in on your plans…” Bruce rolled his eyes. Jamila laughed and gave both a hug.

“Like she’ll do anything! She’ll be too busy blushing all to high hell! Ooh; that’s pretty! That train, though…” she looked through the book.

“You’re right… on both accounts. She asked for my opinion but I’ve tried to tell her that it’s technically her day. If she wanted to wear jeans and a t-shirt, I wouldn’t care. That’s not the important part.” Bruce looked at his fiancée. Tabitha blushed as she gave him a tight hug.

“Oh, my God; that was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! Why can’t my husband be like that?” Jamila sat at her kitchen table, “Could you get this dress without the train? And… wait; you’re not wearing white, are you?”

“I… why does it matter?”

“You’re not a virgin. It’s against tradition. I mean, unless…”

“You make me sound like a whore! You think I’ve slept with **that** many guys?!”

“I don’t think Jamila was implying that!” Bruce laughed.

“How many **have** you slept with?” Jamila eyed her best friend. Bruce cleared his throat to keep from laughing as Tabitha continued to blush.

“… W-Why you wanna know…”

“I’m your best friend and he’s about to be your husband; I think it’s a fair question!”

“… Three, okay?!”

“… Three…? That’s it?”

“What do you mean, ‘that’s it’?! That’s enough! That’s a low number to you?!”

“Well, yeah. You might as well not have had sex! Three. Seriously? Wow… no wonder you blush all the time; you’re a newbie!”

“Fuck you!”

“Ha; that’ll put your number up to four! I don’t wanna be the one to ruin your reputation…” Jamila teased. Bruce laughed fully as Tabitha sighed.

“Wait; you meant four. You’re missing someone…” he looked at her.

“… N-N-No. It’s… three…”

“So, we got you, J’onn and Ethan. Who’s missing? Oh… your friend… in the Army…” it pained Jamila to mention him. She knew that Tabitha didn’t need to think about her former best friend.

“… O-Oh. Tony? No. We never even… dated. And, I never slept with Ethan…”

“Wait, what?” Bruce gave her a surprised look.

“The fuck you mean, you never slept with him?! That’s a joke, right? How could you **not** sleep with him?! Man, I would’ve rode him into the sunset…”

“See, **that’s** why I don’t talk about things like this with you! It’s like you’re deprived or something!”

“Yes; very much so! I live my sex life through you…”

“Oh, dear God…”

“I can’t help that you pick the sexiest men to be with! Present company included…”

“Um… thank you…?”

“You’re welcome! So… if you didn’t sleep with Ethan or Tony… who’s the third guy… or girl…?”

“Why does everyone think that?!”

“Hey, it’s the twenty-first century. And if **I** think you’re cute and I don’t swing that way… pretty sure there’s plenty of lesbians out there waiting in line…”

“The funny part is that she couldn’t be any closer to the truth!”

“S-S-SHUT UP! I ain’t a lesbian…” she sighed out and shook her head, “It’s… Lex Luthor…”

“…… Hold up. Lex Luthor? LexCorp Lex Luthor?”

“Criminal mastermind, super villain Lex Luthor…” Bruce confirmed. Jamila took a long hard look from him to her friend.

“I… what the hell did I miss?!”

“A technicality. It happened when I was possessed.”

“Yeeah, that makes it **much** better!”

“Wow; I’m shocked you ain’t got nothing sexual to say about that…”

“I mean… damnit; you get **all** the sexy men! I didn’t want to say anything…”

“You’d screw Lex Luthor?!”

“What?! Yes! Don’t judge me!”

“You’re making it very hard not to…” Tabitha sat at the table. She paid more attention to the dress in the book; a white long sleeved gown that would definitely show off her figure that cascaded down into a long train. She did like the pearls that adorned the waistline as well as how the sleeves continued a bit past the wrists, forming a pointed strip. The one thing that she agreed with her friend on was the train; she also wondered if she would be able to have it removed. Then again, Bruce also had a point; it didn’t matter which dress she picked.

Jamila was about to go back to the book until she made a realization.

“Wait…” she gasped and looked at Bruce, “Please tell me you just had the same epiphany!”

“I’m not…… oh. Oh! Are we still on the…”

“Yes! Tabs!”

“What?!”

“Are you kidding me right now?! J’onn was your first? **J’onn** was your first?! Oh my fucking God…”

“W-W-What? He wasn’t good enough to be…”

“Okay, fuck your words right now! You gave your virginity… to Martian Manhunter. I’m… I’m done. I can’t.”

“Wha…”

“I’m so glad that I learned this now instead of before. How would I be able to compete with that?”

“Pfft; obviously very well! The two of you getting married, right?”

“Jamila… is that how you really view relationships?”

“Whether you want to admit it or not, sex is a huge part of a relationship… unless you’re asexual. Tell the truth: if she wasn’t good in bed…”

“I really don’t want to answer that right now…”

“Fine! Tabs: if **he** wasn’t good in bed…”

“… I-I would’ve still been with him…”

“Was J’onn good in bed?”

“Doc!!”

“You ain’t with him no more; talking about his sexual prowess is fair damn game! You owe me!"

“I… **owe** you?”

“I’m your best friend!”

“Ain’t there some sort of rule about not talking about your sex life to your friends?”

“Don’t matter with J’onn! Come on!” Jamila begged. Tabitha gave Bruce a nervous look, who smiled at her.

“I’ve long since got over my jealousy of him.”

“Alright. Yes… he was good in bed… very good…” she mumbled.

“Yes! I **knew** it! He **had** to be! Damn! I bet he made it any…”

“Alright, we’re done with this! L-L-Let’s focus on the dress…”

 

* * *

 

 

She looked at it as a minor hiccup in her hectic life. The “voice” hadn’t made its presence known in a while although Dr. Meridian wanted her to continue sessions with her. While she didn’t understand why, Tabitha didn’t feel like arguing about it. The psychologist insisted that Tabitha spoke about J’onn or at least talk more about the breakup. She didn’t see the reasoning behind it; everything was so plain about it. If she had let herself dwell on it, she admitted that it still hurt a bit how the Martian left. So, she believed the best way to deal with it was to not think about it.

Besides, wasn’t she happier with Bruce as it was? He still had his slight moments of moodiness and was a bit awkward as far as sharing his true feelings. However, it was something that she was used to even when they were good friends. Tabitha would take whatever little feelings he was willing to show.

He was a far cry from the Martian in many ways than one. But she couldn’t help but to see that they were the same in their own little ways. Both had problems expressing their feelings in front of others. However, Bruce overcame that obstacle; everyone knew that the two were together. He had no problem showing little signs of affection in front of the other members. It seemed to Tabitha as if J’onn went out of his way to make sure that no one knew about the two dating. She came to the conclusion that she was better off being with someone who didn’t mind if the whole world knew.

Bruce saw that she seemed a lot happier after talking to Dr. Meridian. Things were getting back to normal, normal for a superhero couple that was. When she wasn’t busy being Monitor, she helped out in Gotham as much as possible. Bruce couldn’t push aside the fact that she was just as tired as she was before changing her lifestyle. He also took notice that she was getting sick more often than he felt comfortable with. Of course, she attempted to hide it but he knew that she was a systematic person; if she strayed from her usual routine, something was bothering her. Whenever he asked, she tried to assure him that she was fine. He addressed his concerns to her best friend; while Jamila insisted that it had nothing to do with the mutant DNA, he talked her into attempting to get some sort of sample from her so that he could run his own tests.

 

* * *

 

It was her lunch break, at least she made it her lunch break! Being the fiancée of the boss (as well as a woman with lightning powers), Tabitha dared anyone to tell her that she couldn’t take a break! She usually didn’t go to the diner in the Fashion District by herself but she was in the mood for it and knew that Bruce wouldn’t have time to join her.

Her last job wasn’t too far away from the diner; Tabitha felt like walking, anyway. She finally got used to the lingering haze within the city; no one knew exactly why it was like that in Gotham. It would lift during sunny days but those days were rare. Tabitha had become familiar with Gotham and actually saw that it wasn’t a bad city, scenic-wise. It had a rich history, one that she appreciated. The crime wasn’t as bad as it was when she first got there; the city was enjoyable to sightseers once more.

It didn’t bother her that most people stopped to slightly stare or smile widely at her (quite a few women sneered but she was used to that as well); that came with being engaged to Bruce Wayne. Tabitha considered not working however they both knew that it didn’t fit her. Even when she made her home on Watchtower, she always had some type of work to do. Things wouldn’t change just because she was about to marry one of the richest men in the United States!

So she returned the smiles and nods, trying to be on her way. Before she could turn the corner to get to the diner, someone had caught her eye. She stopped and watched, her anger slowly building inside of her as Selina walked on the other side of the street. Tabitha clenched her fists, fighting the urge to release her lightning in the woman’s direction.

“…… Calm down…” the voice made its presence. Tabitha narrowed her eyes at her target, making sure not to lose sight of her.

“Shut up…” she nearly growled, “Whoever you are… I ain’t got time to listen to you!”

She could do nothing but replay the scene over and over again; her dropping her bag and Selina smoothly picking it up. She had a bit of sense remaining; Tabitha would not attack the woman in broad daylight. Instead, she made the decision to follow her. She would wait until she got her alone.

The streets weren’t too crowded; most of the people that lived and worked in the Fashion District dined elsewhere for lunch. Tabitha had to be inconspicuous. She was thankful that Selina didn’t look back as Tabitha followed her at a distance. She lost track of time and direction, anticipating the moment she would be able to confront her. The public definitely didn’t need to see what she would potentially do to her!

Tabitha had to make a move soon; she realized that if Selina went into an apartment building, she would lose her. As angered as she was, she knew that it would be truly senseless to tear through an entire apartment building just to get to one person. As she followed at a distance, Tabitha finally made the decision to pick up her pace to catch up to the woman. She knew she wasn’t as fast as Wally so she had hoped that no one truly saw her as she grabbed Selina from behind. She didn’t have a chance to gasp as she was slammed into the side of a building in an alleyway. Instead of looking bewildered, Selina gave her a coy smile.

“If you wanted to see me, all you had to do was call…” the very idea irked her greatly. Before she could control herself, Tabitha charged up and brought her fist towards Selina. The fact that it connected with the bricks of the building only heightened her annoyance. Her vision started to blur as she glared at Selina. A sickness started to bubble in the pit of stomach but Tabitha ignored it. The only thing on her mind was simply letting that rage consume her.

The last thing that registered clearly in Tabitha’s mind was Selina trying to escape from the alleyway. Tabitha did a Lightning Cloud and appeared in front of her, making the woman back away. She thought that she would be able to talk her way out of the fight however Selina saw that something had changed in the lightning woman. She had seen her annoyed before and found it funny that the woman was so easily distracted with a bit of taunting. But this felt different. Tabitha was definitely in no mood to play around.

“Where… is my ring…” she breathed as she charged up for another attack. Selina admitted to herself that she had nearly forgotten about that ring. She thought that both Tabitha and Bruce would’ve immediately came after her. When they didn’t, she put it in the back of her mind.

She now saw that Tabitha hadn’t forgotten. It was safe to say that the act festered in the woman’s brain and now she was at an unreachable point. Maybe if she swallowed her pride and gave the ring back, she would come out of the ordeal unharmed.

“Oh; **that** gaudy thing? Don’t worry, it’s in a safe place. For a man with a lot of money, he sure has bad taste in jewelry…” she waved off, “Come on; I know you’re going to insist on following me.” she slightly turned, heading to her apartment.

What Selina didn’t know was that her words fell on slightly deaf ears. She had heard the beginning of what Selina said. But, in her mind, “jewelry” was easily replaced with “women”. The words made her immediately experience tunnel vision… and Tabitha gladly welcomed it.

“……Please… don’t…” that voice tried to reason with her. Tabitha only shook her head.

“This got nothing to do with you!” she growled. Puzzled, Selina looked back; she found her words odd.

“Wha…” it was all Tabitha allowed her to say; without warning, she was in front of the woman with her hand wrapped around her neck. Before Selina could pry her fingers away, she felt a sharp pain make its way through the side of her face; Tabitha had slammed her into the brick building. She tried to shake the stars away from her vision and the ringing in her ears but was slammed into the building once more.

This wasn’t the Tabitha she was used to. The other times they had fought, the woman had relied on her lightning abilities; the very last time, it showed that she was being trained by Bruce: Tabitha was a bit more tactical. Not this time. The lightning woman had snapped and showed off her true power. Grant it, it was uncontrolled and brutal but it was there, lightning and all. Selina knew that whatever this was Tabitha was experiencing had gone far beyond the ring.

A couple of more slams into the brick building face first and Selina knew that her face had swollen. Everything happened so quickly, she had no time to fight back let alone try to reason with the woman. She had hoped that the woman would either tire out or realize that she was in no shape to fight back.

Relief never came. Selina was positive that Tabitha slammed her into that wall so many times, she made a large imprint. Finally, she decided to stop but threw her to the ground. Selina tried to look up at her; her vision was blurred and her left eye was closed.

“T-Tabitha…” although it was very hard for her to focus, she knew that the lightning woman was stalking her. It was evident that Tabitha was no longer coherent. She tried to scramble away from her but was quickly met with a charged kick to her abdomen. She coughed as her breath left her; when she tried to breathe in, immense pain caused her vision to whiten, “S-Stop; just… go get the damn ring!” she tried. Tabitha’s response was another lightning-charged kick that sent her flying into the wall.

Selina didn’t want to do anything but lay there; begging for mercy was useless at that point. She knew that blood was seeping from her mouth and hoped that Tabitha saw it as well when the woman grabbed her by the shirt. The one thing that she noticed as they were now face-to-face was that she had a wild, raged look in her eyes. Even her breathing was erratic; Selina prayed that the woman would eventually pass out from hyperventilating!

With a heavy grunt, Tabitha threw her to the other side of the alley followed by a Lightning Cloud to face her yet again. She hovered over her, simply glaring down at her. Selina tried once more to get away but was stopped as Tabitha placed her foot on top of her ankle.

“W-W-Wait… Tabitha… please… s-s-stop…” Selina cried; the pressure she placed on her ankle was a sure sign of what was about to happen. Another singe of pain coursed through her body as Tabitha applied more pressure, the bones in Selina’s ankle slowly cracking. She wanted to let out a sigh of relief as Tabitha removed her foot but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to even limp away; there was no way she would be able to put any pressure on that ankle.

Without warning, Tabitha let out a frantic yell as she slammed her foot down on Selina’s ankle. Coupled with the rest of the pain she felt, the shock of a crushed ankle made her finally scream. The piercing aches coursed throughout her body, making her immediately pass out from it all. That blood curdling scream was enough to make Tabitha’s vision come back to normal. Her body burned as she tried to control her breathing. Her heart continued to race as she finally noticed Selina on the ground, bloodied and bruised.

“W… Wha… Se… n-n-no…” she shook as she stared at her in horror. She couldn’t think straight, the sickness that plagued her for months started to climb into her throat, “F-Fuck… Selina…” Tabitha placed her sweaty hands on top of her head in disbelief, “S-Shit!”

She didn’t know who else to turn to; before she knew it, Tabitha made her way into Dr. Meridian’s office. The blond, along with her client looked up in confusion at her. She couldn’t calm herself down and was breathing heavily. She trembled as she made her way inside, sweat and blood dampened her clothing.

“Um, Tabitha? I’m… with a client right no…” she cut herself short as currents of electricity flowed from her arms. Tabitha glared at the man.

“Get out…” she didn’t have to tell him twice; he gathered his things and ran out the room. Her glare softened to a look of utter confusion when the two were alone, “I… doc… p-please… h-help…”

“Okay… tell me what happened. Do I need to call Bruce?”

“I… Selina… fuck! I think… I k-k-killed… her…” she was finding it harder and harder to control her breathing as well as that sickness. Tabitha paced the floor erratically as Chase looked on in fear.

“Y-You… Tabitha, I need for you to calm down…”

“It… happened. It fucking happened! I… j-just… s-s-shit!!” she punched the nearest wall to her. Tears started to stream down to her cheeks as she realized what she had done, “I… I can’t… n-n-no…”

“…… You need to calm down, please…”

“I… fucking… **CAN’T**!!!”

“Tabitha? Was that the voice? It said something to you?” Chase picked up her phone.

“J-J-Just… make it stop!”

“…… Don’t make me do this to you…”

“W-W-What? D-Do… what… to me…? What are you gonna do?! Who are you?!?!” she panicked. She was hyperventilating, wheezing as she continued to try to breathe normally.

“Tabitha…?” Chase cautiously approached her.

“…… You’ve left me no choice. I’m sorry…” the whisper seemed to echo in her head. Tabitha’s eyes widened as she started to gag for air.

“I… I… can’t… b-breathe…” was the last thing she could say. Chase watched in horror as she collapsed.

“Tabitha!” she immediately dialed Bruce’s number.

“Dr. Meridian, it’s too early for remind…”

“Bruce, come quick! Tabitha barged in here and just passed out!”

 

* * *

 

 

No one knew what to say to him; they had never seen him so distraught. He had every right to be, they knew that. The League members had no idea how to handle the sight of Bruce carrying a limp Tabitha in his arms, rushing her to the infirmary. Quite a few followed, trying to figure out what happened. Bruce ignored the others’ questions as he watched the medics work to get her breathing on her own. A large lump gathered in his throat when he saw that they eventually had to put her on a respirator. He clenched his fists, fighting the urge to go back into the room to figure out what was wrong with her. He tried to tell himself that the people working on her were the best medics in the world… and they were doing all that they could.

The only thing anyone got out of him was a repeat of what Chase had told him: her behavior was erratic, talking in spurts about killing Selina. Clark went to check her story and was relieved to find the woman only terribly beaten and bruised with a shattered left ankle in an alley two blocks away from her home. Bruce stayed on Watchtower, awaiting any type of news on Tabitha’s condition.

The last time he could remember weeping was when his parents were killed. After making the decision to become Batman, he also made the decision that he would never show weakness, again. It didn’t mean that he was uncaring; he felt that he couldn’t afford to show any emotions. This time, he couldn’t help it. His fiancée had laid there for two days, unresponsive but no one could tell him what was wrong with her. He didn’t want to think about the theories at the moment; he just wanted her to be fine.

The truth being, Bruce Wayne was a very emotional man; he was definitely going through a slew of them. After a while, there was only one lingering emotion: fury. No one knew anything; it seemed that the Watchtower medics were contempt with keeping her on the respirator! He removed his head from his hands and looked at her with misted eyes. Disregarding the machine helping her breathe, she looked so peaceful to him. Her messed up clothing had been removed and she was in a white hospital gown. He didn’t know how to feel about the fact that she only had small bruising on her left knuckles while it was uncertain if Selina would walk again, let alone the countless constructive face surgeries she would endure.

Bruce’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the urgent beeping of her monitors. His heart felt as though it dropped into the pit of his stomach as Tabitha’s body jerked in small spasms. Three medics ran in and began looking her over.

“What…”

“She’s seizing. I’m sorry, sir but you’ll have to leave!” one of the medics ordered. Before he could object, the other two pushed him out of the room, forcing him to watch from the other side of the glass. Bruce seethed as he watched, longing to go back in there to at least hold her hand. Something was making her suffer and he couldn’t do anything about it. Hot tears blurred his vision as he continued to watch. After what seemed like an eternity to him, everything calmed down.

“… Bruce…” Diana carefully approached him. She was fighting her own tears after watching her friend go through the seizure, “What… happened…?”

“I don’t **know** …” it was the closest he got to screaming; it was what he wanted to do at that point, “I don’t know anything…”

She narrowed her eyes, not particularly at him but at the entire situation. How was it possible that no one knew anything about Tabitha’s sudden decline in health?

“Then, find out something! Don’t you dare sit and mope when I know you can do **something**!” she glared at him. She was right, he finally realized. Why was he relying on the civilians? Why was he being pushed around by them? Bruce knew that the only way to get some results… was to get them through **his** means!

 

* * *

 

The professor didn’t even try to hide her tears as she looked at her best friend.

“Oh, my God… Tabs…” she immediately grabbed the woman’s hand. She looked at Bruce, “What happened?!”

“I… damnit, Jamila; I don’t know! She went into one of her blackout rages; she nearly killed Selina! She went to Dr. Meridian. She tried to tell her what happened but… she was panicking. And then she just… collapsed.” he explained.

“What… what did the doctors say…?”

“… The only thing they know is that… something is slowly shutting down her organ function…”

“W-What? Which one?!”

“… All of them…” Bruce added, looking away, “I… I need your help.”

“Bruce… I don’t know anything about this. I’m a doctor of education and science, not medicine.”

“Are you sure that the DNA strand isn’t causing this?”

“It wouldn’t cause anything **this** dramatic. It’s already a part of her; there would’ve been signs a long time ago…” she tried to explain. Bruce sighed heavily and nodded.

“I still would like your help. We need to get her out of this coma and get her back to normal.”

“You know I’d do anything for her…”

He was thankful for the professor; the two ran any and every test they could think of. Bruce insisted that they checked on Tabitha’s mutant DNA strand but ended up owing her best friend an apology. Jamila was right; the strand wasn’t the culprit of Tabitha’s strange and deadly illness.

It took almost a week before Bruce finally found what he believed was the answer. He was working on little to no sleep, beyond exhausted but there was a shimmer of relief in his voice as he called for Jamila. Although she was just as tired as Bruce, her heart raced as she went into the infirmary.

“I wanted to kick myself for taking a break. But now, I’m so glad I did! We missed something… and it was right in front of us this whole time!” he gave her a sheet of paper. Jamila looked it over, a wrinkle forming on her forehead.

“Whoa… her hormone levels are through the roof! Yeah… how’d we miss **that**?” she sat down and continued to look at the results, “Even still, I don’t see how this…… wait… that’s… that hormone. Why do I know…… oh. Oh! Bruce! Tabs is…?” her eyes widened at Bruce. He slowly nodded.

“Yes. She’s pregnant.” he confirmed. The announcement made her cover her mouth in sheer astonishment.

“Oh, my God. That makes this more serious…”

“… Yes and no. It’s the reason why she’s in a coma.”

“What…? But… how? Maybe it’s the strand after all? Combined with her being pregnant…”

“No. It was just… I want to say this happens when something alien is introduced into the body…”

“Wait; how can you be so cruel and technical about this? For fuck’s sake, you’re gonna be a…”

“I meant that literally.” Bruce looked dead at Jamila.

“Okay. I know that we’re both exhausted but you’re really confusing the shit outta me right now! I don’t know how to take that… literally…? Holy…… shit…”

“Honestly? Those were my exact words.” he couldn’t help but to add a smirk. He handed her another sheet of paper, an ultrasound. Jamila looked on, eyes still widened, taking in everything. The digital picture was clear as day; she had to marvel at the technology the superheroes had at their disposal! However, there was no mistaking whose child Tabitha was carrying.

“How’s this possible…? He’s been gone…”

“Almost a year, I know. I don’t know much about Martian reproduction. I can’t say that I was even curious to ask! But, I’m assuming that because she’s human is why she’s been carrying for so long.”

“Damnit! The mood swings, her getting sick so much… how the hell did I miss that?!”

“Remember: we just thought that it had to do with her DNA strand.”

“Huh; true.” Jamila sat down and looked at her best friend, “So… it’s safe to say that the human body can’t hold any other species’ fetus. It… it’s a natural defense mechanism for the body to fight off anything foreign. But we don’t know for sure if it’s the baby or her own body shutting her organs down.”

“… We have to see to it that both survive…” Bruce looked at Jamila. She shot a look at him.

“You have a plan?”

“That is the plan. There has to be some way to stop whichever one is doing the harm.” Bruce idly grabbed Tabitha’s hand. No amount of sighing could hold back his tears. He cursed at them, at everything in his head. Once he found out that she was pregnant, he had a lot of thinking to do. Although he knew that it was the right decision, it didn’t mean that he had to like it, “… I can’t stay…”

“You… what?”

“I have to call things off with her. Everything…” his words resonated in her head. Before she could control anything, Jamila approached him and slapped him as hard as she could.

“Why would you do that to her?! You… fucking… **coward**!!”

“Jamila…”

“No; fuck you!! Hasn’t she been through enough?! We ain’t found a cure for nothing and you’re calling it quits?! What the **hell** kind of man are you?!”

“I love her. I really do. And I will always love her. She **will** get better; her and the baby. But… I can’t do this. It’s not fair to her or that child; I can’t raise it.”

“You know what? For a superhero, you fucking suck! You’re gonna make her do this by herself all because…”

“If it was anyone else’s child, I would be more than willing to accept it as my own! I obviously can’t in this situation! How… it’s not like J’onn isn’t coming back! This makes them a family; as much as I love her, why would I stand in the way of **that**?” he tried to explain. Jamila shook her head, still furious with him.

“You can’t make that decision for her.”

“A decision needs to be made **now** , about everything! I don’t like it but it needs to be done!”

“I pray for your life that she agrees with that!” she glared at him but turned away.

“… We still have to figure out how to make her better…”

“You’re the one with all the answers.”

“Jamila, please…”

“Alright, alright!” she huffed and sat back down in a chair. She ran her hands through her dreads, “Okay… this has to be something that the baby is doing. Because her new DNA is enhanced. Well… whatever needs to be done, Martian DNA will be needed. She’s… I don’t know how far along she is by Martian standards; it may be too risky to extract the little one’s DNA…”

“I… I have Martian DNA in my lab.”

“… What…? How’d you get… does J’onn know this?”

“How do you think I got it? He willingly offered.”

“… You got everyone’s DNA on file? Wait, don’t answer that: I really don’t wanna know!” the professor shook her head, “I guess… to the Batcave!”

 

* * *

 

 

He was going to wait until something happened. Whether it was for the better or worse, Bruce mentally promised that he would be there. He did all the testing that he could with the serum he made; it was beyond time to put it to the test. He wondered why the Martian hadn’t shown up; J’onn always had a knack for appearing at just the right moments. Then again, he was pretty sure that everyone knew about the engagement. It was probably enough to drive the Martian away for good.

Nonetheless, Bruce truly believed that the pregnancy would bring them back together. He didn’t want to be in the way of that. Raising a child terrified him; how would he deal with raising a half Martian child? Both notions scared him to death; he felt that he had no other choice but to let her go.

The professor pointed out some harsh truths, he at least admitted that. How would Tabitha react to everything? They had never talked about children. He saw how she treated Dr. Lindsey’s children however they were closing in on their preteen years. For all that he knew, Tabitha could be just as terrified about having her own! No one would know until she recovered. Bruce just hoped that he made the right choice and that she wouldn’t be too upset with him.

He had lost track of time but at least he was getting more sleep than before. Albeit on a not so comfortable roll away couch but once she was responsive, he would find the time to complain. He knew the medics’ routine checks by heart; it was always enough to stir him out of any amount of sleep.

“Sir!” a medic rushed in. Her urgent voice was enough to make him jump from the couch as though he wasn’t sleep at all. His mind wasn’t too groggy to study her; she had a surprised expression on her face. That was a good sign, he hoped.

“A change?”

“A big one! Look…” she gave him a sheet of paper. Her test results. He had seen so many since she slipped into her coma; Bruce knew what most of the numbers meant as well as what to look for. He stared at the results, finally dragging his hand across his face.

“Her… kidneys…”

“They’re functioning. On their own! Also her liver and her lungs…” she glanced at Tabitha and shook her head in amazement, “Sir… what did you give her…?” she was beyond curious. No one else knew about the real cause of Tabitha’s illness. Because of who he was, the medics had no other choice but to let Bruce run his own tests as well as provide his own method of a cure. Bruce let out a small laugh, wiping at his tears.

“… Something that I had hoped would work…”

 

* * *

 

Her lungs burned and she didn’t understand why. It was as though she hadn’t breathed in a long time. She felt weighed down and tried to move. She couldn’t hear, she couldn’t see, she could barely breathe; Tabitha started to freak out. Then, she remembered the last thing someone… or something tried to tell her: calm down. Once she did so, her senses started to slowly work. She was laying down, she realized. The sounds of machines bombarded her ears. The hospital, she wanted to moan out.

At first, the voices were all jumbled up and muffled. As she laid there, trying her best to breathe normally, they separated from each other and became clear. Several people… all of whom she was familiar with. Tabitha willed her eyes to open; she wasn’t the least bit surprised that her vision was blurry. Despite being impatient and uncomfortable, she decided to let her eyes adjust on their own. The figures sitting around in the room became more recognizable. She tried to speak but found that something was painfully blocking that function. What could she do? It hurt to even make a sound; she needed to get their attention. The only thing that came to mind was to see if she could produce lightning.

She saw something out the corner of her eye. While the family spoke amongst each other, Jamila turned to look at her best friend. Her eyes widened as she saw weak currents travel from Tabitha’s hands to her arms. Their eyes met, both glistening with tears.

“T-Tabs…” she covered her mouth. The words wouldn’t come to her; all Jamila could do was grab Bruce and force him to look.

“Tabitha…” his words made everyone stop speaking and look over at her.

The medics removed her from the respirators, still keeping an eye on her. She was weak and took her time to do things. Finally, she was able to sit up on her own and her throat had been refreshed. She looked at the worried and relieved faces that waited for her to say something.

“… What… happened…?” she had enough time to recollect her memory but simply couldn’t.

“You don’t remember anything?” Bruce asked her. As she tried, she slowly shook her head, “Well… you beat up Selina… pretty bad…” he looked at her for some sort of reaction. She leaned back, letting the words soak in. The visions came back in pieces as she shook slightly.

“Oh, my God… I did… is she…” she looked up at Bruce with tears in her eyes.

“She survived. With a lot of physical therapy, she might be able to walk with just a limp.”

“Bruce… it happened. I lost it and… I just… let it happen…” Tabitha started to cry.

“Okay, how about we talk more about that when you get better?”

“N-No. I wanna… talk about it… now. Everything.”

“Okay. So, you want to know exactly what happened to you.” Bruce asked her.

“Y-Yeah…”

“Fine. But, I need everyone to leave.” he glared at the others in the room. They all gave him a look before finally leaving. Jamila gave him a noticeable glare before exiting with the League members, “There’s no need for the whole world to know; I’ll leave that up to you.” he started. Bruce told her everything that happened, from Dr. Meridian’s frantic call to her mysterious illness that kept her on life support.

“So… what was it…?” she looked at Bruce. He sighed and managed a small smile.

“You’re pregnant, Tabitha.”

“……… What…? B-But… h… how far along…?”

“… I don’t know. It’s hard to tell.”

“I don’t get it. None of it. How is me being pregnant the cause of all this…?”

“It’s… not mine.” he sighed out.

“What do you mean, it’s not………” Tabitha’s eyes widened when she made the realization, shaking her head, “N-n-no. That’s… that’s impossible…”

“I’ve been with the Justice League for a while now. Nothing’s impossible.” he shook his head, “We don’t know about Martian development. So, what’s normal for us may not be the same for them.” Bruce tried to explain. It left Tabitha dumbfounded. Becoming pregnant never dawned on her; she was too busy trying to fit in with the Justice League and fighting her own personal battles. Especially after J’onn left, she felt that her little trip to the future was null and void. How wrong she was!

She reclined back, trying to grasp everything. Pregnant. With a Martian child. The father nowhere to be found. As she covered her eyes in disbelief, it finally dawned on her: all of those times she was sick. Tabitha swore it was the DNA strand’s doing; how would she had known that it was a case of morning sickness? She admitted that she had been moody a lot as well. Her overreactions to petty things. She let out a gasp: she was pregnant when the Martian was still on Watchtower!

“I… I was pregnant when he was still here. Shit… no wonder I was in a fucked up mood towards him!” Tabitha truly wished that he was there; now more than ever she wanted to apologize to him, “So, the baby’s… attacking my organs still?”

“No. With Jamila’s help, we found a serum to counterattack that. It won’t hurt the baby but it stops both your body and it from attacking each other.” he said. Tabitha nodded. She gazed at him as he looked away, holding her hand. She sighed and squeezed it.

“You’re breaking up with me… aren’t you?” she surprised him. Bruce shot her a look and opened his mouth but nothing came out, “It’s… well, it ain’t okay but… I kinda understand. I can’t ask you to raise a Martian child.”

“I love you, Tabitha. I always will. And I will be there for you, through everything. So, you won’t be alone in this. It’s just… it’s not fair to J’onn. He should be the one raising his own child; he **will** be the one!”

“You… really think he’ll be back?”

“He said he would. He’s never broken a promise since I’ve known him. This is proof that… you two were meant to be.”

“What if I don’t want it that way? What made you think that you could decide that for me?”

“I know; I jumped the gun and made the decision without you or even for you. Either way, I wasn’t going to make up my mind on that. I can’t raise a Martian child as my own.”

“Huh… for obvious reasons.” Tabitha leaned her head back and sighed deeply. She gave him a look, “Alright. So, we’re done. But, we’re still friends… right?”

“Of course. You’re… taking this better than I imagined.”

“Trust me, this shit hurts! But… you ain’t doing this to hurt me. Hell, you ain’t even doing this for me! It makes sense. Cuz there’d be questions I’d have a hard time answering! So this is for the best, I guess. But, I won’t put up a fit if you agree to two things.”

“What’s that?”

“One: we stay friends. Like, how we were when I was your electrician.”

“Okay…”

“And, two: **if** we get back together, you gotta stop being mad at J’onn!”

“I…” he let out a small laugh, “I questioned a lot of things that he did. And yes, I was jealous. But… he’s always been my friend. And, I’ve long since lost my envy. But it’s a deal.” Bruce gave her a smile before he hugged her.

 

* * *

 

Her parents gave her huge hugs, almost not wanting to let her go. Tabitha told them all that happened to her as the three sat in the living room. A week had passed since she woke up from her coma. She was still on light duty as far as being Monitor and admitted that she was still a little weak from her ordeal. She followed orders and took everything one step at a time.

Tabitha automatically knew the looks she would get: shock, bewilderment and then happiness at her news. She had to laugh as the two went through those emotions exactly how she called it! They eventually learned of her breakup and who the father really was. She was at a loss of words for their next reactions: ones of almost relief. Tabitha was surprised to find out that while they liked Bruce, had nothing against him, they actually preferred J’onn. They felt that the engagement was something that made Tabitha feel less lonely and that her true love was for the Martian. As awkward as their first and second encounters with him were, they had learned to love and accept him. Maybe Bruce was right after all; maybe J’onn and Tabitha were really meant to be.

She found herself almost exhausted after dinner and was glad that none of her brothers were visiting; she claimed one of the rooms to get some sleep in. her thoughts consumed her once everything was quiet. After her shower, she found herself sitting on the bed, staring at her stomach. She tried to imagine herself with a pregnant belly, wondering why after a year she wasn’t showing… at all! She had gained a little bit of weight but nothing to set off any alarms (unless she counted her father’s instincts).

She was pregnant. Tabitha Lyght was pregnant. She was going to be a mother. She had never thought about being one. For the moment, she only had Bruce, Jamila and her family for support. No Martian. She guessed that between all of them, she would figure out how to care for a Martian child. Or better yet, she smirked, the child would attempt to take care of her!

Her eyes widened at the thought. She rubbed at her belly, tracing an abstract figure and smiled.

“… Why didn’t you tell me you were the voice?”

“…… I’m sorry…” for the first time, she smiled at the hushed voice, “I thought you knew.”

“It never dawned on me.” she shook her head, “You’ve been in there for a long time! Are… are you comfortable…?”

“…… Yes…”

“Oh. Okay. I’ll, uh, I’ll try not to put us in so much danger! I ain’t mad at you for doing what you did. You actually couldn’t help it, I guess!”

“…… I tried not to hurt you…”

“I know. I wasn’t listening. I was…” the thought of it made tears form, “Mommy’s so sorry for not listening to you! I’ll… I’ll make it up to you, okay? I don’t know how. A-a-a-a-and, I don’t know what to do from here. But… we’ll be fine…” she sniffed as she wiped at her tears.

“…… Mommy…?”

“Yeah?”

“…… Could you tell me about father?” the question made her gasp, fighting more tears, “Please? I want to hear about him…”

“I… okay. Yeah… let’s talk about your dad…”


	9. Disturbing the Balance

** Chapter Nine: Disturbing the Balance **

**  
**

Tabitha took a while to weigh her options. The most important issue was out the way; her family, the professor and even her ex were more than willing to help out as much as they could with the baby. The entire situation of being pregnant scared her but the support that she already had would make it a bit easier.

The main problem now was: what was she going to do? Tabitha admitted that she was never the one to stay still. She always needed something to do. The only thing she had to fall on was being Monitor. Going back to being an electrician was a given as well. But she really enjoyed being Monitor. Would she go back to doing so?

Thinking about that, she also knew that it meant that she would have to tell the others that she was pregnant. She looked down at her almost flat stomach; Tabitha had been carrying for a year and still wasn’t showing. How long would it be before she would start to show, or even go into labor? Maybe she could get away with no one else knowing while she continued to participate in missions. Telling everyone would also mean that she would have to tell them who the father was. Tabitha was not in the mood to answer questions she didn’t want to answer; it was bad enough she had to tell her unborn child, reliving the times she had with J’onn! She didn’t want to lie and say that it was Bruce’s, or even lead the League into believing something like that. If Tabitha was to return, her decision was made: she wouldn’t tell anyone else about her pregnancy.

Now that she had a clearer picture of what to do next, Tabitha had to focus on the one thing she was truly avoiding: finding J’onn. Whether she liked it or not, she needed to find a way to at least get in contact with him. However, as soon as she thought about it, she knew that it was a lost cause. If the world’s greatest telepath didn’t want to be found… there was nothing anyone could do. The only thing she could do was send him telepathic messages, hoping that he was willing to receive them. Bruce was certain that he would return; Tabitha just hoped that it would be sooner rather than later.

 

* * *

 

It took her another month to make a full decision; Tabitha was back at Metro Tower. Bruce was not happy at all about her choice but knew that the only thing he could do was make suggestions. One of those was that she would at least take a leave of absence once she started to show; the one thing that he **did** agree with was not letting the other League members know that she was pregnant. At least not until someone got in contact with the Martian so that the two could discuss whatever plans that were needed. In the meantime, he pulled some strings so that Tabitha could get regular checkups without the medics reporting anything to the other founding members; while the serum was working just fine, her pregnancy still needed monitoring.

She looked around Metro Tower with a slightly exasperated look. Wally arched an eyebrow at the scene.

“Hey! What’s up? Lose something?” he asked. Tabitha huffed as she looked at him.

“Kinda. You seen Kara or Ollie or John? I actually need all three…”

“I haven’t but let me check.” he told her and sped off. Five seconds later, Wally returned, “Nope. They’re not here. Tried Watchtower?”

“Mike said he hadn’t seen ‘em either. They ain’t responding to their communicators…” she bit her lip. She refrained from mentioning that it seemed just like the time she went on that time travelling mission; they vowed not to mention it to anyone, “You busy? Wanna go on a quick mission?”

“Oh, so I’m the fourth choice here?” Wally asked with a feigned look of disappointment. Tabitha smirked and pushed him.

“I know how bored you get on smaller missions! Grab two more to go with you, smart ass!” she shook her head, laughing a bit.

“I’m lead? Sweet!”

“Yeah, yeah; I’ll debrief you once you get your team ready!”

After sending Wally’s team on a minor mission, Tabitha continued to attempt contact with the three missing members. After an hour, she concluded that they were warped either forwards or backwards in time. She wondered what type of adventures they were having and if whatever they were doing would alter the current timeline. Her thoughts were interrupted when Kal-El walked inside the room.

“Ollie and John want to speak with us.” he moved aside so the two men could walk in. Tabitha smirked as she saw what Ollie had in his hand, a blue glowing cube; her instincts on the three taking part of a time travelling mission was dead on! Her smile left as she noticed that they were missing one member.

“Where’s Kara?” she looked at the men with concern in her eyes. Ollie set the cube down on a table where it immediately projected an image of Kara. Obviously nervous, she cleared her throat and looked at everyone in the room.

“So… I didn’t feel right about my decision without telling you goodbye, Clark and Tabitha…”

“Wait, what? Goodbye? But… where are you…?”

“It’s a recording; she can’t hear you.” John explained to Tabitha.

“Oh…”

“Figured I can wait until Tabby calms down…” Kara smirked from the holographic image. Tabitha narrowed her eyes.

“Smart ass! Ain’t even here and she got jokes!”

“… As you’ve figured out by now, I was warped to the future, about a thousand years. I won’t bore you with all the details! But, when we arrived, I was told that my history stopped a little after my twenty-first birthday. At first, I thought that it was because I died in this future. After our victory, I knew that it was because… I decided to stay here…”

“Oh… Kara… wow…” Tabitha blinked.

“I, I found a place where I’m able to make a big difference… and not just be Superman’s kid cousin[1]. No worries about my happiness, though! I’m truly happy here. The technology is amazing; I love it! And plus… there’s this seriously cute guy…” she winked, making Tabitha giggle, “Anyway! I just wanted to say farewell. Clark, please give my love to Ma and Pa. Tabitha: I wish we would’ve hung out more. But, you’re an amazing Monitor and don’t let anyone tell you any differently! Oh! Remember that conversation we had? About you following in your mentor’s footsteps? Yeah; get to work on that!” she smiled brightly. Tabitha blushed slightly. Kara finished her goodbyes before the hologram disappeared into the cube. Tabitha looked over at Kal-El who had a smile on his face.

“You okay with this?”

“More than you think. I’m happy that she’s happy. I never meant for it to be a burden that she was labeled; that was something that couldn’t be helped, given the circumstances. I always wanted everyone to look beyond the fact that we’re related.”

“You’re right though; it couldn’t be helped. Well… as long as she’s happy. Glad that she found a place where she feels she belongs… along with a cute guy!”

“Speaking of: the boy Kara mentioned. Does he have a name?[2]” Kal-El looked at John and Ollie. They exchanged looks and held in their laughs; Kara had fallen in love with the descendent of Brainiac: Brainiac 5.

“Clark, you ain’t her dad! All that matters is that she’s happy!” Tabitha interfered. Kal-El finally nodded and sighed.

“You’re right.”

  


* * *

  


“I want to change my costume!”

“… Oh… okay…”

“Doc! You ain’t gonna help?!”

“Why does everyone like to add these other professions to my résumé? Mother and physics professor; that’s it! Not a fashion designer or a wedding planner…”

“I just need your fucking input; I can make my own damn clothes!”

“What’s wrong with the one you got?” Jamila asked. Tabitha sighed through the phone and leaned back in her chair.

“… Kinda not working in Gotham no more. Bruce put his foot down on **that**!”

“Oh, well good for him!”

“Don’t start…” she groaned out, “I’ve been good! No major missions…”

“Yet!”

“You know what? Forget it! I don’t need your help; I’ll go ask Wally…”

“Wait, damnit! God; you’re so fucking moody since you got preggo!”

“You would be too if you were carrying a child for a damn year!”

“… Touché. Alright; beam me up, ‘Scotty’![3]”

“Fucking smart ass…”

Jamila walked through the halls, heading to one of the recreation rooms until she was greeted by Wally.

“Doc! Hey!” he walked with her, throwing his arm around her shoulder, “So! Still married…”

“Yes, Wally…” she rolled her eyes and removed his arm.

“Damn!”

“You know, I’m starting to think that you’ll flirt with anything that moves!”

“Um, nope! Vaginas only…”

“Why did I even bring this up…?”

“Because it’s hard to make you blush! Besides, you have to give me a try…”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because I’m a stud! Are you kidding me? You know what they say: once you try the Flash…”

“… It’s over in a blink of the eye…” Jamila gave him a smirk as she continued to walk. Wally hung his head in defeat.

“You’re a very cruel woman, doc…”

“Thank you!” she gave him a huge smile. The two met Tabitha in a recreation room where she was surrounded by various clothing. She looked up and smiled at the two.

“Good! Two opinions!”

“What’s all this?”

“She wants to change her outfit. You got a basic outline of what you want?”

“Yeah, kinda. I… I wanna make my outfit after J’onn’s…”

“Really, now?” Jamila’s eyes widened.

“O-Oh, what? You think people’ll get the wrong idea or…”

“I don’t think you could wear something like that. You have… boobs…” Wally pointed out, his hands showing an example against his chest.

“But the distractions she would cause, though…” Jamila tilted her head with the thought. Tabitha put her head in her hand and sighed heavily.

“Oh… my God; I don’t wanna copy his outfit exactly! Just something… like it.”

“Ah! You’re paying homage! That’s… pretty cool, actually. Seems only fair with you being Monitor and all.” Wally nodded. Tabitha gave a small smile and blushed.

“Alright. Then, why don’t you start with a shirt and a skirt, then?”

“Nope. No skirts…” Wally shook his head.

“Really? Why not? I think that’ll be cute; a blue skirt.”

“You plan on fighting, right?”

“… Yeah…”

“Panty shots…”

“… Oooh. He’s right, Tabs.”

“But… Kara wore a skirt…” Tabitha looked at the arrangement of clothes she had. Wally crossed his arms and smirked.

“… Panty shots…”

“I guess you’re right. Wait… you saw her panties?!”

“What?! I’m a guy; what was I supposed to do: look away?!”

“That would’ve been the decent thing to do…” Jamila mumbled.

“So, if J’onn was here and he just so happened to have lost his trunks in some freak accident… you would look away…?” Wally looked at Jamila. She thought for a moment.

“…… Point proven…”

“Thaaank yooou! Don’t go around thinking **I’m** the bad guy; your morals are just as bad!”

“A-Are you two done with your perv show…?” Tabitha huffed, “Alright; no skirts. End of discussion! Pants it is!” she searched through the pile of clothes. She found a blue pair of pants and examined them.

“You gonna make your cape as massive as his? Damn, that thing could wrap around me ‘bout four times, easy!” Jamila laughed.

“Yeeah; I’d tone down the cape…”

“Not doing a cape; I hate capes. They’re… pointless, really.”

“I’ll make sure to tell Bruce and Clark that!” Wally laughed.

“Go ahead! Bruce already knows how I feel!”

“Alright, fine. What about the shirt? Oh! You should definitely put in the red straps.”

“Yes! The straps are like his logo or something.” Wally agreed. Tabitha looked at a black shirt, examining it.

“Okay. What about… designing the straps into the shirt…?”

“That’s a good idea. Don’t have to worry about extra pieces weighing you down. Your mask!”

“Yeah; forgot about that. Well… what if I made it green? With red eye covers?”

“Huh, if that ain’t a tribute, I don’t know what is!”

  


* * *

  


Tabitha looked over her new outfit and smiled. She liked the end results although Wally talked her into a couple of modifications. For some odd reason, his ideas fit well into the making of the outfit. Running down the sides of her blue pants were a series of yellow lightning bolts. Her black top was slightly off her shoulders with the red straps designed within the shirt. Where the straps intersected, Wally felt that she should have on large yellow lightning bolt. She found it weird that he would try to incorporate something that symbolized him into **her** outfit. Then she realized that it **was** something she associated with! The lightning was who she was; it was only fitting that it was incorporated into her outfit.

It was rare that Tabitha would find herself aboard Watchtower but she knew that her work was never done up there! She was a bit nervous as she walked through the hallway to her destination; those who passed by her would stop and give her a thoughtful look over. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that it was a bad idea to listen to Kara!

“Oh… Tabitha!” Zatanna took notice of her; she began to walk with her.

“Hey, Z…” she tried to rush; maybe if she looked as though she was in a hurry, the woman wouldn’t say anything more!

“You changed your outfit… and cut your hair…” she noticed fully. For the life of her, Tabitha could not get her new mask to look right. At the suggestion of her best friend, she made the decision to go all out on the new look; she was now sporting bangs. The change worked; the bangs fell perfectly around the green mask whenever she wore it.

“Just a new hairstyle…”

“I like it. The whole thing. Oh… those straps… you’re paying homage to J’onn!”

“Y-Y-Yeah.”

“It’s about time! It still isn’t the same without him around, is it?”

“No… it’s not. S-So you don’t think this is too much?”

“Not at all. I love how you put both him and yourself into the whole thing! I would’ve went with a skirt…”

“Nuh uh; panty shots…” she slightly blushed as she remembered Wally’s statement. Zatanna laughed fully.

“You definitely hang around Wally too much! But I guess he has a point,” she continued to walk with Tabitha. “Call me crazy but I was a bit let down when you two didn’t end up together.”

“M-Me and Wally?!”

“No! You and J’onn! It just made sense to me that it would happen. But then you end up with Bruce… I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with him! Oh; I’m sorry…” she tried to apologize but Tabitha waved her off.

“He… it really wasn’t the right time for us to be together. We, uh, both denied it for a long time, though. ‘Specially me. I mean, we love each other. But just because you love someone don’t mean you need to be together. Timing and shit like that! So, I ain’t mad ‘bout anyone mentioning Bruce!”

“Hmm. That is one guy who’s unlucky in love!”

“Not really. He chooses not to love. I don’t blame him.”

“So, you’re saying that you’re done with love?” Zatanna widened her eyes at her. Tabitha gave her a small smirk.

“Let’s just say I ain’t in no rush! If it happens, it happens. Right now, being a superhero is more important,” she nodded. It was half the truth: she knew that she had higher priorities than falling in love. But Tabitha wondered when the next time she would fall in love… and with who. “Hey… you meant that? About J’onn and all? I mean, why’d you think that?”

“Like I said; it just made so much sense. You two were always together. And, I thought there were some chemistry there. I guess I was tired of seeing J’onn so… lonely. You know, you’re the only one I’ve ever seen him be around so much. You never thought about it?”

“W-W-W-Well… I… u-u-u-uh…” Tabitha stammered. Zatanna’s smile widened.

“You **have**! Did you tell him? What did he say? Was the feeling mutual? I think he would’ve appreciated the thought, at least.”

“S-S-Stop! I-I-I-It was just a thought, a long time ago! I… I took his kindness the wrong way. He told me that he only wanted to be friends…” she had to stop her smile from coming out. She hadn’t lied to the woman; she remembered it as though it happened yesterday: the talk the two had over a game of chess. She was overly nervous bringing the subject up… which shocked him more than she thought it would.

“… Oh. Maybe it’s **you** who’s unlucky in love…”

“Yeah, maybe.” the thought never occurred to her until that moment. Tabitha thought about the three relationships that she had. With Ethan, it was fast paced; she say that they clearly were attracted to each other. Instead of waiting for a moment or not saying anything, she dove right in! Maybe if she would’ve confessed about her being a super heroine sooner, Ethan would probably be normal. She would’ve decided to go back to Gotham instead of staying aboard Watchtower for her training.

Her relationship with Bruce; Tabitha was still in debate with herself if she only agreed to marry him so that she wouldn’t be lonely. She loved him, of course but she was now more comfortable loving him as a friend. She smirked; finding out she was pregnant may had been for the best!

She was about to analyze her relationship with J’onn until she saw Zatanna double over in obvious pain.

“…Z…?” she knelt beside the woman. She groaned loudly, holding her head.

“Gnorw si gnihtemos! Em pleh!!”

“Wait, what…?”

“Ecnalab eht! Detpursid neeb sah ecnalab eht!!”

“I don’t understand magic talk! Come on…” she picked the woman up and rushed to the infirmary. Tabitha saw that there were others writhing in pain as well. A civilian medic helped Tabitha with Zatanna.

“What’s going on?”

“Shit; I was hoping you’d tell me! She ain’t making no sense!” she explained. Zatanna grabbed at Tabitha’s shirt, a wild but pained look in her eyes.

“Tosl si lla! Lleh fo enorht eht no stis tsuaF!!”[4]

“See? English, Zatanna!”

“She can’t…” Diana surprised her. She quickly led Tabitha out of the infirmary, “Someone’s messed with the balance.”

“The balance? Between what?”

“Olympus and Tartarus. I was just ordered to restore it… by Zeus himself.”

“Wait. Zeus. The god of lightning, Zeus.”

“The god of the gods, Zeus. Tabitha…” she finally took a good look at her and cracked a smile, “You’ve changed. Oooh…” her smile left as she remembered the conversation on the night of the woman’s engagement, “You were talking about J’onn.”

“… What…?”

“You thought that I drove J’onn away. I only suggested for him to take a leave of absence. I never thought that it would affect your friendship…”

“I’m over it.” Tabitha rushed, mumbling. She **still** didn’t have a clue, Tabitha thought.

“This may not be the time but let me make it up to you.”

“Di, I said forget it…”

“Come with me.”

“W-What? To… right now?!”

“Yes. Consider this a major mission.” she hoped that would be convincing enough; Diana had other plans for the woman.

“I… I guess.” she clicked on her communicator, “Clark. I’ve been enlisted to help Diana on a mission.”

“Where to?”

“Uh… where we going?” she looked at Diana as the two made their way down the hallway.

“Themyscira.”

“I heard. Good luck.” he ended transmission. The two women were in Diana’s room. She looked over all of her weapons.

“None of these will do. I need something that will disrupt magic…” her eyes widened and then narrowed as she left the room, Tabitha following her.

“So, the balance being upset is what’s making Z act all crazy? I’m guessing it got something to do with magic…”

“Yes.”

“… What would I be able to do? Kick a little ass and take names?”

“I have a feeling that this won’t be so easy. So… yes!”

“Won’t complain about **that** , then!” Tabitha smiled. She frowned slightly as Diana put in a code to Shayera’s room, “Whoa; what’s up with that?”

“I told you. I need something that can disrupt magic. Her mace does just that…”

“W-W-Wait, you’re gonna steal it?!”

“I’m just borrowing it. This shouldn’t take long; we’ll be back before she finds out that it’s missing…”

“That’s stealing, Di.”

“It’s not like we have time to ask for permission!”

“Oh… we become pals while I wasn’t looking…?”[5] Shayera’s voice made both women jump.

“So you know, this wasn’t my idea! I ain’t lead on this mission…”

“And here I thought we were partners…” Diana rolled her eyes and glanced at Tabitha.

“In **crime**? Nah! You on your own, there!”

“Why are you two in my room, stealing my mace?” Shayera huffed.

“I need to borrow it. The balance between Olympus and Tartarus has broken.”

“Oh. I see. A mission that requires my assistance.”

“Maybe I should just stay here…”

“No. I invited you. Shayera can stay.” Diana glared at her.

“Look, she has a point. It’s her weapon which means she’d know how to handle it better. Plus… I don’t think she letting you ‘borrow’ it…” Tabitha tried to reason. Diana huffed.

“Let’s get going…”

  


* * *

  


The three arrived in Themyscira and were greeted by Amazons fighting off demons. Without a second thought, the three put themselves in the battle, trying to contain the situation. Some of the Amazons gave Diana a double take before getting back into the battle. Tabitha charged up and hit a group of demons, shocking them unconscious. She glanced over at Diana, who was taking care of a couple of demons.

“What’s up with these looks they giving you?”

“Ha! The princess hasn’t been so forthcoming with you. She’s supposed to be in exile.” Shayera volunteered before becoming airborne. Tabitha noticed that one of the warriors had her back towards an approaching demon. She was in front of the beast with a Lightning Cloud, surprising both the Amazon and the demon. Tabitha threw a punch to its stomach and then to its face, sending it flying through the air.

“… Thank you, young warrior…”

“No problem. So, uh… what’s going on here?”

“I’m sorry. Even though you possibly saved my life… and are somehow blessed with Zeus’s powers, I cannot speak to you.”

“Oh… okay…” she gave her a look as the Amazon continued to fight. The group took care of the rest of the demons as Tabitha stood beside Diana, “What the hell did you do?! Why am **I** getting snubbed?”

“Because you’re with me, you’re not welcome here. There is one rule that we lived by on the island: no men can step foot here. I… broke that rule when I asked for the Justice League’s help a long time ago.” Diana looked ahead at Hippolyta who was quickly approaching the three.

“My daughter. As much as I am happy to see you, I’m disappointed that you’ve broken your exile.” she lectured. She glanced at Tabitha, “And yet again, you bring outsiders with you. Demigoddess or not, you are not…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa; you think I’m a god…? I’m flattered, your… highness…? Do I bow or what?” Tabitha switched glances from mother to daughter.

“Mother, I was ordered by the gods themselves to help restore the balance. It was my choice to bring outsiders for help. Shayera’s mace will be very helpful and Tabitha, as you’ve seen, will be helpful as a whole. We need to pass through the gate. Felix Faust has dethroned Hades.”

“That does explain a lot. If the gods sent for you, I will let you pass. However, I will let you deal with them as far as bringing outsiders.” Hippolyta gave a thoughtful look towards Tabitha.

“I’m sorry; hold that thought. Hades? You mean to tell me those gates lead to hell?!”

“What did you think when she said Tartarus?” Shayera smirked.

“When she said something about magic, I was thinking some wooded fantasy land!”

“Having second thoughts?” Diana looked at Tabitha. She studied the gates for a moment before shrugging.

“Are you kidding me?! So I can pass up on telling folks I’ve been to hell and back… literally?! Not on your life!”

“Good!”

“Diana. You will need more than the power of an nth metal mace and lightning. I will need to unlock the powers of your armor.” she approached her daughter and touched her golden tiara. All of Diana’s armor pieces glowed for a moment before dissipating. Hippolyta grabbed her daughter’s hands, looking over her bracelets, “That is strange. Not much was needed to unlock your bracelets.”

“That is why Tabitha is here.”

“You? You’re responsible for that?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I scratched ‘em when I first met her… and then I fixed ‘em. That’s it.”

“I see. It just may be a good idea to have her speak with Hephaestus afterwards. Go. May Hera be with you.”

  


* * *

  


After a long, hard fought battle, the three emerged from Tartarus making sure that Hades was back on the throne and that Felix Faust was properly dealt with. Tabitha got the answer she wanted for the longest; the Annihilator battlesuit that was stolen from Watchtower landed in the hands of Cadmus. The magic-wielding Tala was tricked by Faust into freeing him from his mirror prison where he took control of the suit. With the suit destroyed by Shayera’s mace and Faust’s soul in the hands of Hades, balance was finally restored.

She was a bit weary as they walked through the gates into Themyscira; Tabitha never expected that her first mission since coming out of a coma would be one in hell! She subconsciously patted her stomach; while the child gave her several warnings, she didn’t put too much strain on either of them. She was glad for the feast as well as confirmation that Diana and Shayera would rely on one another more as teammates in the very least.

“Tabitha, before we leave, there’s one place that I want to show you.” Diana looked at the woman as she started to leave the table.

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“Olympus.” she smiled. Tabitha gawked.

“F-For real…?” she couldn’t help herself. It was one of her favorite subjects: mythology. Before meeting Diana, it was something that she thought about for the longest; she never expected for the places and the gods to be real!

“Zeus would want to thank us personally. I figured that it would also give me a chance to explain myself for letting you two tag along. Besides, I’d like for you to at least talk to Hephaestus.”

“Alright. I guess… let’s go, then!”

 

* * *

 

The three Justice League women made the trek up Mt. Olympus, something the three had no problem with. Tabitha didn’t tell them about her pregnancy so she knew they wondered to themselves why she lagged slightly. She blamed it on the fact that she was the only actual human and wasn’t used to the high altitude. It was partly true so Tabitha didn’t feel **too** bad about it.

She was glad for the break on a platform in more ways than one. Tabitha looked behind them to see how far they climbed and was surprised. The lit pathway that was carved into the mountainside was no longer visible; a blanket of clouds covered everything as far as she could see. When she looked forward, her awe only doubled. The pathway started as golden stairs from the platform up a few hundred feet to a massive golden temple. There was no need for the torches that lined the stairs; the building’s shine was enough to light anything for miles! Tabitha forgot about her slight shortness of breath as she stared at the temple.

“Whoa…”

“They must know we’re here; if anyone makes it this far, they’re usually met with resistance…” Diana noted as she continued to walk. Tabitha could only nod.

“I just bet… kinda glad we ain’t gotta fight!”

“I don’t know; we’d be able to not only say we survived hell but tangoed with a god!” Shayera winked. Tabitha let out a small laugh.

“I’d call myself a demigod if **that** was to happen!”

It didn’t take long before the golden temple was right in front of them. Two large stone angels greeted them on each side of the staircase; Tabitha swore that they literally watched them as they continued to the front of the temple. The massive doors automatically opened, revealing several gods and goddesses lounging around. They immediately stopped and took notice of the three. Tabitha always imagined they would be a great deal larger but was surprised to see that the gods and goddesses were of average sizes and heights.

Before she could survey the room further, Tabitha noticed that everyone’s attention went to the back of the room. When everyone bowed, she did the same, not bothering to look at who had appeared in front of them. She already knew; there was only one that even the others had to bow to and that was Zeus.

“Princess Diana of Themyscira. Olympus and Tartarus are grateful. For your deeds, I will allow Hippolyta to lift your exile. That isn’t your most important request now, is it?” Zeus’s powerful voice echoed throughout the room.

“It’s not. While I appreciate the end of my exile… I would much rather if my friend was compensated instead.” her words made Tabitha accidentally glance at her in shock. What was she up to, she wondered. She would never ask anyone, particularly the god of gods for any type of favor; she was simply thrilled that she was able to experience something of this magnitude!

“And, what makes her so special?”

“She is one of the best warriors I have had the pleasure to fight alongside with. She is for the greater good and she…”

“Is a mortal.” Zeus interrupted with boredom in his voice. Diana made a face and finally looked up at him.

“She deserves every chance to better herself. She has proven to me that she is as good as Hephaestus!” Diana’s comment drew hushed gasps throughout the room. Tabitha tried not to shake in fear as she felt eyes on her; she closed her own and swallowed that all too familiar sickness down, “Not only did she scratch my bracelets, the same bracelets forged by him but she fixed them.”

“… Is that so? Rise, mortal.” her knees wanted to buckle as she stood. She didn’t know if she was glad that she did; Zeus looked nothing like she would had imagined. He was always depicted as older, with either a flowing white beard or full beard and a head of curly, white locks. There was some curl to his locks and he did have a full, kept beard but they were honey blond. His facial features showed a bit of roughness however he looked no older than fifty. Everyone she had encountered on the mission surprised her with their good looks. Particularly Hades, who had a rock star look to him with his long jet black hair; nothing she would had ever imagined in a million years.

“You are able to forge weapons to the likes of my son?” he asked. He was as tall as the Martian, Tabitha noticed and nearly as wide and muscular. She still felt like cowering in his presence for the simple fact of who he was.

“I… never tried. All I know is how to fix… things…” her stammering embarrassed her. She needed to sound more confident although she had no idea what compensation Diana had in mind for her.

“I would like for her to have access to your powers as well as apprentice under Hephaestus.” Diana hurried, causing Tabitha to gape at her. She put her attention back to Zeus, to protest Diana’s request but kept silent as his black eyes continued to study her.

“I see. You have the power of lightning in you. The princess seems to be confident in you. I am not so easily persuaded. However, since you aided in restoring the balance, I will grant your request… if… you are able to pass my trial.” he surprised everyone in the room. Tabitha looked at him in slight shock.

“A trial?”

“Yes. Did you think that it would be so simple? That all the princess had to do was merely ask? Lifting an exile would be expected. However, one must earn the right to possess the power of a god!” he gave her a smirk and turned. Tabitha looked at Diana for a sign as to what to do next; the Amazon widened her eyes and gestured to follow the god. She was led to the back of the room where a massive throne sat at the head of a more massive white marble table along with other seats. Zeus took his place at his throne while the other gods and goddesses took their own seats. Tabitha stood at the end of the table, more confused than she was when they were bowing before the god!

“What… what would I have to do…?”

“Merely survive. There will be no outside interference.” Zeus looked at Shayera and Diana. The two stepped away from Tabitha, leaving her alone at the end of the table, “If you are unable to get up, then your request will be denied.”

“… Unable to get up…? I don’t… am I fighting someth…” she was caught completely off guard as it felt as though her body was ripped into several pieces. She barely heard the horrified gasps coming from Shayera and Diana. It was the most pain she had ever received in as long as she could remember. For a moment, Tabitha forgot all about the trial and was seconds from collapsing. At the last second, she remembered the last thing Zeus said. Instead, Tabitha grasped onto the edge of the table to keep from falling. She bit her lip to keep the scream from escaping, groaning loudly in agony.

“Diana said that you are a warrior. Well, if you are the warrior that she says you are… get up…” it sounded as though Zeus was taunting her. The pain throbbed through her entire body, making it hard to control her breathing. She didn’t understand it. True, she was just hit with lightning possibly a thousand times stronger than her own, even at its full potency. But wasn’t she made of lightning? She knew she would feel it. But, Tabitha was supposed to absorb the lightning, not succumb to it!

Although she hadn’t initially agreed to it, Tabitha knew that she had to prove the gods wrong. She briefly thought about the benefits of doing so, gripping the edge harder. Just as she started to fully rise, Zeus pointed at her. Another thick streak of lightning escaped his finger and engulfed her body, this one more painful than the last. He smirked and chuckled as she yelled out and fell to the ground on her hands and knees; the other gods and goddesses joined him in laughter.

“No... Tabitha!” Diana attempted to get her only to be stopped by Shayera. The Thanagarian switched glances from Tabitha to her and shook her head somberly.

“We can’t interfere…” her voice slightly above a whisper. Tabitha couldn’t take it any longer; her vision had started to blur. She mentally checked on her child.

“…… I am fine.”

“… I’m sorry…” she whispered. The pain never subsided; it was enough to make a lone tear escape from her. She couldn’t do it. The gods were laughing at her, the god of the gods was torturing her and her friends couldn’t stop it; they could only look on in horror, watching their fellow Justice League member fail her trial. She was weak, Tabitha finally admitted.

Why had the League kept her for so long, even making her a Monitor? She never saved anyone without help. Even when she tried to do things on her own, it didn’t end the way she imagined; someone had to bail her out. That wasn’t how it was supposed to be for her. She was supposed to be a super heroine, one that weathered many a storm to only stand proud beside the Earth’s mightiest superheroes. More tears flowed down her cheeks as she began to curl her body into a ball. No one else’s words resonated through her brain except Lex Luthor’s: she was indeed nothing but a glorified super electrician.

“With all of your supposed powers, you are not able to stand…?” Zeus laughed fully, “You see, it doesn’t matter what type of superhuman abilities you possess: you are still a human. A mere mortal! And a mortal’s purpose in life is to fail!” he continued to taunt her. She tried to forget about the pain coursing through her body but it was one of the reasons that she started to sob. The other? The god was absolutely right.

“Tabitha Lyght! Don’t you dare listen to him!”

“Quiet, winged one!” Artemis glared, gripping her bow tightly but Zeus shook his head.

“Let her attempt to encourage her friend; it will only fall on deaf ears…”

“Listen to me, Tabitha! You are stronger than this! Your purpose isn’t to fail! If that was true… you wouldn’t be in the League! Look: whether you pass or fail this doesn’t matter to us! It’s the fact that you tried; that’s what we’re all about! Damnit; don’t go out without a damn fight! Show him what being a Justice League member is about!!” Shayera glared at Tabitha.

She realized that Shayera was right. What Zeus was putting her through was definitely painful and his words were hurtful. But it was far from the truth. Tabitha was part of Earth’s finest heroes… and that had to mean something! She may not had physically assisted in saving the world a few times… but she was responsible for assigning the ones that could… and her decisions were never questioned. She was even the very reason why Watchtower and Metro Tower functioned at max capacity; that was all **her** doing! There was a reason aside from being his girlfriend that J’onn J’onzz trained her; he saw that she would be more than capable of being his successor. Tabitha Lyght was one of the most important members in the Justice League…

She had to ignore the pain; she willed herself to get back on her hands and knees. The gods stopped snickering at her own expense and watched as she glared at Zeus; she gritted her teeth as she pushed away from the ground. She continued to gather all of her strength as she slowly rose, shaking through the pain to make herself upright. Her breathing was heavy, simply standing nearly drained her. But she continued to glare at the lightning god through tear-stained eyes as gasps were heard throughout the entire room. Tabitha didn’t know how much longer she would be able to stand on her own. But she figured that her last act of defiance would be to proudly wipe away her tears and continue to stare him down. No one was going to call her a failure ever again… not even herself.

Zeus had since lost his smirk and held the woman’s glare. He narrowed his eyes at her as he left his seat to approach her. She was too tired to flinch or brace herself for another attack; whatever he was going to do to her, she was going to take it. Even if she had the strength to attack, Tabitha knew that her powers failed in comparison to his.

“Mortal… it seems as though I have underestimated your will. You’ve taken two of my thunder strikes and yet there you are… standing. Any other mortal would had perished. Are you that determined…?” he asked calmly. Tabitha stopped herself from wobbling; if she swayed any more, she knew that she would collapse. She just continued her angry glare at him.

“I… am not… a… failure…” she nearly growled. Zeus gave her words a thoughtful sound as he simply nodded.

“Very well. You have proven your worth. The purpose of the trial was to determine your will. You have shown that you will not bow down to the might of a god’s power.” he grabbed the amulet around her neck and studied it, “Your own power will no longer be suppressed. I will bestow unto you my powers…” Zeus placed his other hand on her forehead and Tabitha felt immediate warmth as light waves of lightning cascaded over her. Her crystal resonated in his hand; she couldn’t feel a difference but she knew that Zeus transferred the locked in power back to her. After a moment, the currents dissipated and she opened her eyes.

“Thank you… my… lord…” although she still felt pain and only wanted to pass out, Tabitha still found it in her to be respectful. She admitted that she had no idea how to address him and had hoped she had done right.

“No need to thank me; this was the princess’s request. My powers are now inside the amulet. So long as you wear it, you… and only you will have access. See to it that she gets rest; she will have a full day come morning.” Zeus glanced at Diana and Shayera before returning to his throne. They bowed before him before approaching Tabitha. The two immediately grabbed hold of her as Tabitha started to collapse, thankful that her friends were there to catch her.

“Don’t worry; we got you.” Diana reassured. Tabitha could only roll her eyes.

“I… don’t know if… I wanna thank you… or shock you…”

“I’ll be prepared for whichever one later…”

* * *

[1] Paraphrased from Justice League Unlimited episode, “Far From Home”.  


[2] Taken from Justice League Unlimited episode, “Far From Home”.

[3] Phrase taken from Star Trek.

[4] Taken from Justice League Unlimited episode, “The Balance”.

[5] Taken from Justice League Unlimited episode, "The Balance". 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo Hoo! I'm back! ^_^ Sooo sorry for the long delay; things are somewhat back to normal in real life. Looking forward to finally sitting back and doing what I love and that is writing!
> 
> http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/092/6/7/speed_of_lyght_by_everydaybattman-d7ctqd1.png This is a link to what a lovely man by the name of EverydayBattman did for me almost a year ago. Go ahead and check out the other stuff that he's done! ^_^
> 
> Zatanna's possessed speak is simply words spoken backwards. She does this whenever she casts any spell, in case you're not familiar with her.


	10. Even the Odds

** Chapter Ten: Even the Odds**

She didn’t feel any different; just more tired than usual. However that was a given, seeing what she had gone through. Within the crystal that Tabitha grown accustomed to wearing was no longer her suppressed powers but Zeus’s. She knew that it didn’t technically make her a demigoddess… but Tabitha couldn’t help to smirk at the thought that she was now well matched against one!

Bruce tried to control his temper as he made his way through one of the halls of Metro Tower. When he found her, she smiled fully at first. However, seeing the scowl on his face, Tabitha immediately erased her smile and turned back to her upgrade job. He didn’t have to say a word; she already knew what he was upset about!

“Before you even start on me: save it! I already know what you gonna say!”

“… Do you enjoy putting yourself in danger?”

“Okay, first off, I had no idea what she was up to…”

“You went to **hell** ; you had no clue how much strain you were putting yourself in?! Let alone the child’s?!”

“She called it Tarantula; how the fuck am I supposed to know that’s what they call hell?!”

“… Tartarus.”

“Whatever! The point is, you need to be mad at **her** , not me! But, yeah, we’re fine; thanks for asking!” she rolled her eyes. Bruce sighed heavily. Diana couldn’t stop talking about the entire mission; Clark and he were the very first ones she told! If anything, he could at least say that the woman was extremely proud of Tabitha. Had it not been for her pregnancy, even Bruce would be beaming about her accomplishment; how many Metahumans could say that they were blessed with a god’s powers… and mean it literally?

“If you weren’t pregnant, I’d strangle you!”

“And we all know that you’d be electrocuted before laying a finger on me!” she laughed. He smirked; she was right. She was always lightning fast; it made him wonder if her other abilities were heightened with her new godly source.

“How is the baby?” his anger was leaving him. Tabitha nodded and looked down at her stomach.

“He’s fine. Took everything like a champ! He’s **definitely** half-Martian! Kid’s tough as nails!”

“Just like his mother. Hopefully he won’t be as stubborn!” Bruce kept a straight face as Tabitha narrowed her eyes at him, “Oh… you said ‘he’. It’s been confirmed?”

“Figured that part of the future didn’t change. More than enough confirmation for me! I made the nurse mad, though. She asked me did I want to know the sex; told her I already knew! Think she thought I was just being a wise ass or something; don’t!” she warned as Bruce opened his mouth. He finally laughed.

“You walked right into that one! All joking aside; I thought we made a deal about you and your risk taking?”

“Bruce, you can’t expect me to just sit around here, doing **this**!” she motioned to the hanging wires from the ceiling, “Folks’ll wonder why I ain’t out in the field; I can’t tell ‘em I’m pregnant, remember?”

“What about welding? Heard you did some apprentice work with Hephaestus.”

“Yeeah… that’s still ongoing. But he did call me talented and said that the training shouldn’t be for long. I ain’t gonna be making weapons for the gods no time soon but… I’d be able to actually make weapons!” she beamed.

“That’s actually great. You know, with your enhanced powers, you might be able to learn even more things.”

“Huh… never thought about that. I mean, besides making weapons. Hey! You think... now that I got Zeus’s power… I could learn electromagnetism?” the thought occurred to her. Bruce gave it a long thought.

“I don’t know. It wouldn’t hurt to try.” he answered. She only nodded with a small smile on her face. Maybe it was time to go back to Dakota, she thought happily.

 

* * *

 

 

She knew that it had been nearly four years since the last time she entered the Gas Station of Solitude. She took a chance and hoped that Virgil and Richie kept it going; for all she knew, the two were probably away at college. Tabitha wished that she would’ve told John of her plans; he probably had a way of tracking Virgil down.

She was somewhat surprised to see Richie in his usual spot, tending to some gadgets. His blonde, short hair remained the same however, he was noticeably taller, even as he sat. She cleared her throat, which startled him. When he turned quickly, she gave him a wide grin. He studied her for a bit but when his eyes landed on her snow-white hair, he returned the smile; there was no forgetting that hair!

“Batman’s sidekick! Well… Martian Manhunter’s sidekick, now!” he noticed the change of outfit. Tabitha rolled her eyes, removed her mask and gave him a hug, “It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, I know. Kinda been busy with a lot!”

“I heard, Miss Monitor of Metro Tower! You’re lucky that we’re still here.”

“Really? So, no college?”

“Community college for now. How’s Reign and Blaze?”

“Busy on missions but they’re good! How are you and Virgil?”

“We’re fine. I, um, acquired some abilities…”

“… What? Oh… I didn’t know you were a Bang Baby.”

“I wasn’t. Well, not initially. I inhaled some of the vapors on accident. Took it a while to transform me because it wasn’t direct.”

“So… what powers you got?”

“To make it simple? I can control technology… with my mind.”

“Whoa! High tech shit! It suits you.”

“Exactly what Static said! You can call me Gear.”

“Cool! Control over technology, huh? That could come in handy…” she thought aloud. At first, Tabitha had plans on getting Virgil into the Justice League if he was able to teach her electromagnetism. However, she never planned on his best friend being a Metahuman as well; she would have to mention his name when she returned.

Virgil entered the building and cocked his head to the side at the two. His eyes immediately lit up.

“Tabitha!”

“Oh, shit; look at you!” she noticed how he too had grown into an adult. His dreads were longer, able to be pulled entirely into a ponytail. He also had a noticeable tone in his physique and was a couple of inches taller than herself, now, “You two are men, now!”

“Four years would do that to you!” he gave her a hug. His statement reminded her of when she travelled into the future, “We have a lot of catching up to do!”

Before she mentioned about her real intentions of her visit, Tabitha decided to swallow her pride and tell Virgil everything. Richie and he listened attentively.

“So… I wasn’t there…” Richie solemnly asked. Tabitha shook her head.

“Don’t mean nothing now, though. Things can change. That future ain’t set in stone.”

“But… some are more than others…” Virgil gave her a glance. Tabitha blushed slightly, “I can’t believe it. You… and Martian Manhunter… with children! How excited is he about you being pregnant?”

“Uh… he left. Before I found out. So, guess it’s kinda safe to say that he don’t know.”

“Oh, Tabby… well, you have to search for him!”

“You know, that’s the best idea in the world! Let me go search for a shape shifting telepath so I can tell him he’s gonna be a father!” she looked at Virgil. He gave her a smirk.

“Okay, smart ass; I didn’t take all of that into consideration!”

“Have you tried telling him telepathically?” Richie asked.

“Yes; several times! So, either he’s ignoring me or… he’s ignoring me…” she couldn’t think of any other reason why J’onn wouldn’t respond. If he were as powerful as he claimed, it wouldn’t matter where in the universe he was now; Tabitha figured that he would be able to receive any telepathic message.

She finally fessed up and told the two about her true intention; while it was great to see them, she had other things in mind when she came to Dakota.

“Tabitha… you **do** know that electricity and magnetism are interrelated… right…?” Richie eyed her. She gave him a look and slowly shook her head.

“I don’t know what that got to do with…”

“It means I’ve been right this whole time! You’re basically made of lightning. Well, at the very least, you can conjure lightning at will. That’s part of the electric phenomena. You can already manipulate the electric field because of your DNA. A changing electric field can produce a magnetic field. I told you; you’re better than Static! You should’ve mastered electromagnetism a **long** time ago!” Richie tried to explain. Tabitha gave him a blank stare before looking at Virgil, who laughed.

“Lightning and electromagnetism go hand-in-hand.”

“Okay, but he lost me when he started talking about fields and shit…”

“Oh, my… didn’t you pay any type of attention in science class?!”

“No; I napped. And besides, that sounds a bit more advanced than the courses I went through!”

“It’s basic physics…” Virgil eyed her.

“Yeah, no. Never took it. That’s doc’s expertise! Wait…” she clicked on her communicator.

“Oh, my God; it’s time?!”

“It’s… what… oh, no! Hey: how come you never told me that I could control fields?”

“… Oh. You mean the electric and magnetic fields. Well, of course you can! I… I thought you knew that…?”

“Uh, no!”

“Well, your abilities have more to do with manipulating the electric field but seeing that they’re interrelated, you shouldn’t have a problem manipulating the magnetic field as well.”

“You mean… I could’ve **been** learned electromagnetism?!”

“Well… yeah. You don’t…?”

“No! What I gotta do to learn it?!”

“Well… it would be easier if I knew exactly how you trigger your powers. I guess…” Jamila thought for a moment, “Try to concentrate and push a different type of energy than you do when you weld. You can control the different degrees of electricity in order for you to weld or make things indestructible; try different degrees.” she tried to explain. Tabitha thought about what she said and slowly nodded.

“… Thanks, doc. I’ll call you back.” she ended transmission and looked at the two young men.

“Who was that?” Richie asked.

“That was… Blaze’s sister. She’s a physics professor.”

“Really?! Did she say anything helpful?”

“Kinda. Guess we’re just gonna have to practice ‘til I get it!”

She didn’t expect to practice for the rest of the day! However, it was something that she was grateful for. Tabitha learned that her being able to tap into Zeus’s powers had nothing to do with being able to learn electromagnetism… although it did boost her confidence. She heeded Jamila’s words, concentrating on different degrees of channeling her lightning powers. What Richie tried to teach her finally sunk in; she was surprised that it only took an entire night for it to do so. He taught her more on the properties of the electric and magnetic fields that were present all around them. She found that he was right; with the powers that she already possessed, she was better than Virgil was. Richie was more than confident that she would be able to learn Virgil’s powers; what he stressed to her was that it would be possible for her to enhance **those** powers!

Three days of “studying”, she finally caught a break. Although she listened to what Richie taught her, her mind wasn’t open to it. She believed that she needed to physically see the components of electromagnetism in order for it to work; whenever Virgil used his abilities, he produced a current. Whenever Tabitha tried, she might as well had just used her regular powers!

She had grown tired of the same results. However, it hit her suddenly. She tried to figure out what she was doing wrong. No matter what degree of lightning she performed, the results were the same. That was until one day, she simply decided that instead of pushing her powers out… she would try pulling them in. She never expected it to work; it sounded foolish to her! But as Virgil told her to concentrate on the can of soda they used for practice, she held her hand out and concentrated not on the can but the invisible fields of magnetic energy. Both Richie and Jamila stated that because electricity was a part of her, she was connected to both fields.

Did she expect to actually see the fields? She wasn’t sure. So much had happened to her that were possibly deemed unbelievable to the normal person. She was a superheroine. She dated a Martian. She time travelled. She was… carrying a half-Martian child; anything was possible! It still felt like a longshot! Tabitha took a deep breath and thought about everything she learned about electromagnetism and electric fields.

She showed no disappointment when there were no visible signs of the fields; it was only her slight hopes that it would happen! What surprised Tabitha was that… she felt it. Waves upon waves of energy flowed all around her, making her gasp slightly. Virgil looked at her.

“What?”

“I… is this what you feel? All of the energy?”

“Pretty cool feeling, huh?” he smiled at her, “I think you’re about to have a breakthrough!”

“… Yeah.” Tabitha still had her hand extended out, letting the energy flow all around it. She looked at the can, concentrated more and attempted to pull at the energy. The can vibrated and wobbled on the table; before long, it sprang itself towards her hand. The men widened their eyes as she wrapped her hand around the can and crushed it. A broad smile appeared on her face as she let out a small laugh.

“…Wow…”

“Holy shit… I did it! W-What?”

“Tabitha… do you realize what you just did?!” Richie continued to stare at the can in her hand.

“Uh, yeah! I ain’t a complete idiot! A bit slow but…”

“You didn’t produce any currents!”

“… Was I… supposed to…?” she gave Richie a look.

“I… I guess not. I’m not sure. I’m so used to seeing Static in action! You produce a current with your lightning powers; I assumed that it would be the same for your electromagnetic powers!”

“That doesn’t matter! What matters is that… you did it. You now know electromagnetism!” Virgil casually put his arm around her shoulders. Tabitha could do nothing but beam.

 

* * *

 

 

She was proud of her new ability although she still had no idea why Richie was so impressed by it. Aside from the fact that she conjured no physical stream like Virgil, she didn’t believe that it was the huge deal Richie made it to be. Regardless, Tabitha stayed longer to train more on her new feat.

She was giving the two farewell hugs when Clark’s voice entered her ear.

“I hope I’m not interrupting. Spider-Man is looking for you. It didn’t seem like an emergency but I wanted to give you the message as soon as possible.”

“Oh… okay. Thanks! I’ll see what he wants and then come back to Metro Tower.” she informed. She waved at the two young men before teleporting herself to New York. Tabitha made a mental note to give Peter a number to reach her personally; every time they were together, something usually came up to where she would forget to do so! She was on the rooftop of a building and scanned her surroundings; the Statue of Liberty was to her left in a distance so she knew that she would have to turn around and head to her left to reach Peter and Mary Jane’s apartment. If he weren’t there, she would stop by The Daily Bugle.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard the telltale sign of things going awry: screams. Tabitha had a hunch to follow them; she was certain that she would be able to handle whatever it was quickly and have time to see Peter. She wondered if Peter would be there as well; with all that she’d gone through, she felt that it would be nice to be able to team up yet again!

She saw the remnants of civilians running away from whatever the menace was and decided to make her presence known, doing a Lightning Cloud from the building. As she scanned the area, she smiled as she saw Peter in his Spider-Man gear.

“…Sgt. Lyght…?” she was glad for the use of her alias. Although the last thing on the crowd’s mind was the identity of the superheroine, Tabitha wanted to play it safe. His question also made her realize that she couldn’t go by that alias any more: she needed a new one!

Tabitha thought of something witty to say; it would be something that he would do! Her eyes concentrated not on him but the dark skinned woman beside him. Her white hair stood in a Mohawk and seemed to flow down past her shoulders. She was dressed in a black leather suit, which hugged her slim body. Where Tabitha thought her navel would be was a silver “X” buckle. A cape, she wanted to sigh; the woman’s matching black cape hung close to her ankles. The two locked eyes for a moment before a small smile appeared on the woman’s face.

“Tabby, watch out!” Peter warned. She turned and her eyes widened as she saw of all things, two cars flying towards her. For a quick moment, she even saw the possible culprit; a few yards away, a man in an all red suit highlighted with deep indigo trunks and a flowing cape. What made him stand out wasn’t the colors or even the cape; it was his helmet. From a distance, the red with deep indigo trim helmet only revealed a dark void where a portion of his face should be. However, Tabitha had no time to think about that. She knew that he was responsible for the cars torpedoing her way as it looked as though his outstretched hand was guiding them.

She cursed herself for jumping in without accessing the situation first; even if she was to do a Lightning Cloud out of the way, the cars were approaching at such a speed that they would surely hit Peter and the other white-haired woman. She doubted that **she** would escape fully; she would possibly be scraped, herself. It was clear that whoever the man was, he was controlling the metal objects; it may not had mattered what she did.

It was then that she remembered her newly found ability. Tabitha stood her ground, narrowed her eyes at the incoming barrage and concentrated. With Virgil and Richie, she only practiced on a single object but Tabitha was sure she would be able to control this! I can do this, she silently breathed as she stretched her hands out towards the vehicles. Underneath his mask, Peter’s eyes widened as the cars abruptly stopped in their path and dropped to the ground when Tabitha lowered her arms.

“Well… **that’s** a new ability!” he mused. Tabitha lifted her arms, raising one of the cars. She spread her hands apart, dismantling the metal pieces from the car. She pushed out as hard as she could and made the objects fly back at the man at a quicker rate. She knew that he would be able to do the same but she needed to be quicker. Tabitha also knew that her plan meant she would be wounded in the process; not by much but she hoped it would be enough to distract him.

Before he could raise an arm up to stop the metal swarm, Tabitha did a Lightning Cloud through them. She was close enough to see the look of surprise in his bluish-grey eyes; even as metal parts scraped her, she couldn’t help but to give him a small, knowing smile. Tabitha charged up as her fist connected to his nose, one of the rare vulnerable spots on him. With the lightning infused, it was enough to send him back a few feet. The stings of the metal were enough to remind her to take control, seeing that the man was definitely stunned. She lowered her hand and the metal objects fell back to the ground.

Tabitha put her attention back to the man, who she found was lifting his hand up. She thought that he was going to use the destroyed car to attack her and tried to retaliate. Tabitha was caught off guard as she felt her amulet tug painfully at her neck. She watched in slight horror as she was forcefully pulled towards him. He gave her a curious look, studying her face at first. Tabitha noticed that he was stronger than he appeared as he wrapped a hand around her neck.

“You are no child of mine but it’s clear that you’re a mutant. Who are you…?” his voice had a slight, foreign accent.

“It’s ‘Metahuman’! And I ain’t the one throwing shit at innocent folks! Who are **you**?”

“Oh… you’re not one of Charles’s students. Seeing that we share a common trait, I will tell you. They call me Magneto. And, you are…?” his eyes only glanced at hers before looking at her amulet. Tabitha smirked as she began to charge up.

“A distraction…” she released all of her energy, surprising Magneto. He immediately let go of her and was greeted with a swift kick to the side of his helmet. Tabitha looked to see that Peter joined in on the fight. A sudden gust of coldness hit her back and Tabitha looked back. The other woman had taken to the air, her eyes turned into a milky white as a blizzard formed in the surrounding area. Tabitha couldn’t help but show an impressed look; the woman controlled the blizzard to the point where it was starting to blind Magneto however had little effect on her visibility.

She took that to her advantage as she began a series of Lightning Clouds towards him, each time hitting him with force.

“Go for his helmet, Tabby!” Peter’s instructions were slightly muffled through the howling winds of the snowstorm. She did as he told her and soon, she heard a hard clanging noise. As the blizzard started to cease, Tabitha used her magnetic ability to seize the helmet. She didn’t question why the helmet was so important; at first glance, it appeared to be ordinary. Before she could do anything, Magneto let out a frustrated grunt. Her eyes widened as she actually felt the powerful surge of energy emanating from his body; she did a Lightning Cloud away from him before he released a massive magnetic pulse wave.

She took in a deep breath and threw her arms out, hoping that she would be able to stop the wave. The pressure caused her to shake before she pushed it back towards him. The move was enough to let his guard down as he was knocked away by the force. She didn’t want him to get another chance to retaliate; Tabitha did another Lightning Cloud and pulled Magneto up by the collar. She charged up, feeling Zeus’s power merge with hers and shocked the white-haired man unconscious.

“… Unbelievable…” Peter breathed out beside her. She looked at him and smirked.

“What? I didn’t kill him!”

“It’s not that. You just knocked out Magneto…”

“Oh… okay…”

“No one has ever defeated him, alone.” the other woman had a slight African accent, “You are the first…”

“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘alone’! If you hadn’t blinded him, think this would’ve been a stalemate…” Tabitha shrugged.

“So… calling you Sgt. Lyght or Nikki is out the question, now! New look… new powers…” Peter looked at her. Tabitha let out a laugh.

“I guess so!”

“…… the Bronze Wraith…” her unborn child stated. It took Tabitha a moment to understand before she finally nodded.

“It’s… the Bronze Wraith, now…”

As Magneto was taken into custody, the three made their way away from the crime scene.

“Any idea why that guy was causing so much chaos here?” Tabitha glanced at the two.

“I have no idea. If I did, I would much rather explain it at the mansion. I am Ororo, by the way. Some know me as Storm.”

“Oh… you’re… inviting me to dinner…?” Tabitha gave Ororo a look. She laughed.

“It’s not that type of mansion! I would like you to meet someone. Well… someone would like to meet you!”

“So… you know who I am…”

“Only on paper. You’re… protected.”

“Wait… what does that mean?”

“There are only three ways to get in contact with you: through S.H.I.E.L.D., through the Justice League or by force. S.H.I.E.L.D. has no jurisdiction when it comes to the Justice League. And we would never use force to contact you.”

“Right, cuz there’s other ways to contact me…” Tabitha pointed towards Peter. Ororo smiled.

“This is also my first time meeting him.”

“I take it he ain’t invited.”

“Afraid not.” she gave Peter an apologetic look.

“It’s okay. Go with Storm. I’ll be waiting when you get back!”

“Oh, okay. I’ll call ya…”

 

* * *

 

 

The two landed in front of a massive red brick mansion where a few children warmly greeted Ororo. A couple glanced Tabitha’s way before running inside.

“Welcome to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.”

“This… is a school…?”

“In more ways than one. Professor Charles Xavier founded the school in order to train and teach mutants.” she took notice that Tabitha cringed at her words.

“Wait. Those kids. They’re…”

“Yes. Everyone inside is. I’ll let you talk to Charles before giving you a tour.” Ororo led the way inside. There were more children inside however there was a mix of teens and young adults. She tried to keep from staring as they made their way down a hallway. Tabitha stopped dead in her tracks as a large blue and furry man made his way out of a room. She didn’t want to call him a man; he was more beast than anything. Although he was no taller than she was, his ape-like physique made her a bit wary. Ororo smiled and embraced him.

“Henry…”

“It is good to see you, Ororo.” Tabitha was caught off guard at the deep and polite voice. She felt a slow blush form on her cheeks as “Henry” looked at her, “A new student…?” his blue eyes studied her. There was something about the other white-haired woman, he noticed. Ororo released the embrace and turned to smile at Tabitha.

“No. This is Tabitha.”

“Ah! Well, the professor will be elated about this bit of news!”

“Tabitha, this is Dr. Henry McCoy.”

“Oh. N-Nice to meet you, Dr. McCoy…” she stuck her hand out. His large hand covered hers completely although his handshake was not as firm as she expected it to be.

“Only students and professional colleagues address me as such. Please, call me Henry or Hank. It is a pleasure to meet you as well.” he gave her a small smile.

She didn’t want to be rude; she noticed that he held her hand longer than usual. The small blush started to travel up more as she realized that he was studying her. He gave out a pondering noise as he leaned more into her. Tabitha’s eyes widened as he simply sniffed, the blush that she tried to hide was fully noticeable.

“U-U-U-Um…”

“Henry!” Ororo laughed.

“Forgive me. My mutated state gives me superhuman, animalistic senses. You give off an assortment of scents and… I wanted to make sure. Are you aware of your… delicate condition?” he asked lowly. The question made Tabitha smile, nearly laughing.

“Yeah… I’m **fully** aware!”

“Then, congratulations! This is Professor Xavier’s office…”

“Hank…” she noticed that he placed his hand gently on her back.

“Yes?”

“I appreciate the gesture and all, I really do. But, I’m just pregnant… not injured! Just got done whooping up on some guy named Magneto; I think I can handle walking!” she gave him a wide smile. Henry gave her a surprised look, switching glances from her to Ororo.

“She fought Magneto?”

“Yes. She has his abilities…”

“Amazing.” Henry breathed out.

“I-I had a bit of help…” Tabitha eyed Ororo.

“We shouldn’t keep the professor waiting much longer, then…” Henry knocked and opened the door. Tabitha was amazed at how spacious the room was. It reminded her of one of Bruce’s numerous dens in Wayne Manor; the room was large enough to hold a small class of students. The floors were hardwood with a burgundy Persian rug that spread out making sure that every single piece of furniture touched it. Filled to the brim on the two side walls were cedar bookshelves; a cozy fire hearth divided the left side’s shelves. An elegant chess set was a few feet in front of the fireplace while towards the windows was a large desk. Two accent chairs that matched the shelves were in front of the desk along with a glass circular coffee table.

While the room amazed her, the man who approached her left her speechless. She knew that she was looking into the steel blue eyes of Professor Charles Xavier; what surprised her was that he was in a wheelchair. The wheelchair itself was astounding to her; a stainless steel mechanical chair whose wheels weren’t even standard: instead of spokes, there were large Xs.

“Everyone is a Metahuman, huh?”

“A… Metahuman? Oh, you mean a mutant?” Charles asked. He noticed that Tabitha cringed at the word, “What is it about the word that you don’t like?”

“It’s an… insult…”

“Really!” Tabitha noticed that all three widened their eyes at her, “Are you ashamed of who you are? Or rather, what you’ve become?”

“… No. It’s just… I…”

“You were told that the word is demeaning. That it signifies being a… freak.”

“How’d you…” Tabitha pondered for a moment before a smirk appeared, “You’re telepathic…”

“That I am. In my opinion, masking the word ‘mutant’ is more of an insult than the word itself. We are long since removed from the days when being called a mutant meant someone was a… monstrosity. At least, that is what I would like to think for the most part. There are those who judge a book by its cover. However, being called a Metahuman compared to a mutant… wouldn’t make any difference there.” he explained. It made sense to her. She thought about Henry for a moment and felt bad about him intimidating her, even if it was only for a quick moment. She knew that regardless if he called himself a mutant or a Metahuman, some would call him a freak.

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be! We clearly live in two different worlds. The people that you surround yourself with stress to the public that they have ‘super powers’. People are more willing to accept that term rather than ‘mutant’. Do you know what the word ‘meta’ means?” he looked at her. Tabitha slowly shook her head, “Technically, it’s a Greek prefix that means beyond. Whoever coined the term, wanted people to know that they were beyond human. Which is true. However… it can be taken out of context very easily…” he gave her a smirk. Tabitha bit her lip as she thought about it. The first thing that came to mind made her shudder in disgust.

“That ain’t who I am. I never thought that I was better than humans. Hell, I’m **still** a human! Just…”

“A mutant?” Charles laughed a little, “For someone not to accept the word, it means that they’re not willing to accept who they truly are. Either that or they truly believe that mutants are a bad thing. The point that I like to put across to anyone is that there is nothing wrong with being a mutant. How you control your powers and what you do with your powers is the most important thing.” he finished explaining. She gave it a thoughtful nod, “Well, you certainly didn’t come here to be lectured! I am Charles Xavier. It’s very nice to finally meet you, Tabitha Lyght.”

“About that. You’ve been watching me? Why?

“Curious about your abilities. We know that you’re technically property of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s, at least your DNA strand is. It fascinates me that there’s a living, breathing elemental Steve Rogers. Don’t worry; I don’t want anything extreme like a sample. Just study you. Understand your powers more.”

“I dunno. Ain’t nothing special about me… well, aside from the obvious!”

“You handled Magneto with more ease than anyone has in a long time. Eric is a very powerful mutant, no matter how misguided.”

“So, you **know** him, know him…”

“We were old friends.”

“W-Wow! So… do you know why he was throwing shit around?”

“We plan to find out. So, would you let me study you? The choice is yours, of course.”

“I just… don’t want any over charged clones running around… again!”

“For that, I would need a sample and that is something that I don’t want.” he gave her a reassuring smile, “It could possibly be an enlightening experience for you. After all, you just recently learned electromagnetism.”

“I… guess. When you put it that way!”

“Good! Would you like a tour of the school, first?”

“That would be nice…”

 

* * *

 

 

Tabitha expected Charles to accompany her on the tour however Henry was her guide instead. She didn’t mind it; he was very articulate and knowledgeable and she learned a lot from him.

“Are you a professor? Here?” she couldn’t help but to ask.

“Yes, I am.”

“Huh. Figured! I bet you teach history…”

“Actually, the sciences and mathematics. Biochemistry and genetics is more of my calling however, I found only a select few have a deep understanding of it. Quite difficult to teach if one’s not willing to learn.” he glanced at her as they walked through the courtyard. Their tour found its way outside towards the back of the mansion.

“That’s true.”

“Are you… interested in becoming a professor here?”

“W-Who, me? Ha! What would I teach? I don’t know nothing…”

“I don’t believe that. You wouldn’t be an efficient engineer if that was true.”

“I can learn; I can’t teach what I’ve learned. That means I gotta explain it and I can’t. That’s just how I work. Besides, I wouldn’t have the time. So… thanks but no thanks!” she gave him a smile. Henry nodded.

“Your child. It isn’t fully human, is it?”

“Nope. He’s half-Martian.”

“Fascinating! I didn’t think that it was possible. Oh… the Martian Manhunter is the father…”

“Why am I surprised that you know him…?”

“I know **of** him and even that is vaguely. It’s rumored that he is in the top three of the most intelligent beings on the planet if not the universe. Although, it’s not a fair assumption; seeing that he’s alien, it should be a given for his intelligence. Is it true that he’s the last of his kind? Well… not anymore, if it’s true!” Henry beamed at Tabitha who slightly blushed, “While I’m pretty sure that it’s possible for humans to conceive… how is it that you are able to carry, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Well… I’m not technically supposed to be able to. Something about my body’s natural defenses against foreign objects! My friends came up with a potion that calms my insides down and lets the baby… do what it’s supposed to do! See; told you I can’t explain shit!” she shook her head. Henry chuckled.

“That’s quite alright! I understand and it’s the most astounding news! I would like to meet your friends.”

“I think I can arrange that. Well, at least with doc… um, my best friend! Hey… you don’t have any actual human professors here, do you?”

“No.”

“Do you think Mr. Xavier would give my friend an opportunity if I can talk her into it? Maybe not full time, though. She’s a physics professor already.”

“You are the epitome of southern hospitality! That will be something Charles and yourself should talk about.” he informed her. Tabitha simply nodded as they walked through the courtyard. Her attention suddenly went to a man who made his way towards the two. He had a rugged look about him, as though he was much more comfortable in the wild. His jet-black hair stood in slight spikes on the sides, giving him a devilish, animalistic look. It was weird to her but that man looked more like an animal than Henry did!

“Logan…” Henry greeted him casually. She actually liked that he greeted everyone in the same manner. What surprised her was Logan didn’t return the greeting; instead, he slightly glanced at her with his nostrils slightly flared. For some reason, the look made her entire body tighten up especially when he smirked at her.

“Hmph. Sorry, doll: I don’t bang pregnant chicks…” he nearly growled. Her eyes widened at him.

“W-W-W-W-What?!”

“Logan!”

“The way you’re looking at me. I’ll have to decline. Maybe when the kid pops out…”

“Excuse you?!” his rudeness and assumption angered her. She knew that she wasn’t looking at him in **that** manner; why would he say something like that, “A-A-And, how’d you know… oh. Okay, what is with you people with sniffing?! What are you, some kind of animal?!”

“You don’t know the half of it, sweet cheeks…”

“Sweet chee…” she automatically made her hands into fists and glared at him. The move only made him smirk even more.

“Oh; I was wrong. You wanna tango… not the horizontal limbo! In your condition?”

“Wanna see how my condition helps me kick your ass?”

“Cute. Now, **this** I have time for!”

“Logan, Tabitha…”

“Can it, fur ball; I wanna see how tough she really is!”

“Tougher than you think, ‘sweetheart’!” Tabitha prepared to charge up.

“Let’s go, bub!”[1]

“Logan, that is definitely not a good idea…” Henry tried however Logan already exposed his adamantium claws. Tabitha’s eyes widened at the sight but before he could reach her, she stuck her hand out, using her recent ability. They were both surprised as Logan stood paralyzed inches away from her.

“Wha… let go of me!” Logan growled. Tabitha shot a look at Henry.

“Why can’t he move…?”

“Logan’s bones were reinforced with adamantium, along with his claws.”

“I’m gonna assume that’s some type of metal!”

“Yes.”

“Yeah; she’s a smart one!” Logan eyed her. Tabitha narrowed her eyes at him before she lowered her hand quickly, making his body slam into the ground.

“You gotta lot of nerve to talk shit when I control your body! I wonder how far away I can hold ya!”

“How ‘bout you let go of me and play fair?”

“How ‘bout… no! You were gonna cut me!”

“Would’ve hurt a little bit…”

“Ya know, I got all the energy in the world; I can hold ya all damn day!”

“Tabitha, please. Release him.” Henry sighed out. She hesitated before she released her control over Logan. He grunted and glared at her but kept his distance.

“Whenever you want to fight for real… come find me…”

“Whatever…”

 

* * *

 

 

After her tour, Tabitha found herself roaming the hallways with Charles.

"I'm sorry about Logan."

“It's okay; not your fault. Guess I should've ignored him."

"It's pretty hard to do that with him! However, it's one of the reasons why he's a part of this team." Charles explained. Tabitha nodded slowly. Someone whose bones were infused with one of the toughest metals in the world who could also unsheath metal claws would be a valuable asset to any team.

She thought about her experience since being in the mansion and gave Charles a look.

"I got a question for you. Are you able to tap into anyone's brain?"

"They would have to be in a certain proximity however I have a program that can help. You want to locate someone?"

"... Yeah. He's telepathic, too so..."

"Oh! Then, it may be simpler than I expected. Who do you want me to contact?"

"Martian Manhunter."

"... He doesn't know he's the father."

"He kinda left before I found out."

"I see." he nodded politely before closing his eyes. After a moment, his forehead furrowed before he opened his eyes, "Maybe not as simple as I hoped! Follow me." 

The two were in the basement of the mansion. Tabitha was surprised to see not a regular door but a circular, steel one in front of them. Charles placed his hand on the keypad and the door rolled open, revealing a long walkway wide enough for his wheelchair to fit. At the end of the walkway was a small console that housed a stainless steel head piece.

"Meet Cerebro. Eric and I created this device in order to detect other mutants. Henry enhanced it so that a telepath would be able to do so worldwide. The Martian Manhunter seems to be a bit out of reach but Cerebro should help." he placed the head piece on. Tabitha jumped back a little as what she thought was just a wall came to life. Silhouettes of people swarmed on the walls, nearly stretching as far as the eye could see. She took the time to look at them and noticed that there were quite a few who were in red.

"The red ones. They're mutants?"

"Yes. And there's your Martian." the words made her blush. She looked where he was pointing and saw that J'onn was vibrantly colored. He would be, she smirked. Her heart pounded with anticipation. It had been so long since she spoken to him; now it looked as though not only would she get in contact with him but he would finally know that he was going to be a father, again.

 

He was at his desk when the feeling started. Nothing that alarmed him; only a minute prick at his brain. The first time it appeared, he ignored it; it was possible that he was working a bit too hard. Or at the very least, was trying **not** to think about her as much; maybe he was trying too hard.

Moments later, the prick was more noticeable. It made him furrow his brow; he literally shook the feeling away.

"You okay, Jones?" a desk sergeant looked at him. He gave the man a smirk and shook his head.

"I'm fine. Slight headache."

"Working too hard, eh? Go home; I'll look through the files."

 

Tabitha gasped as Charles groaned when the images became distorted. He snatched the head piece away and she caught him just in time as he fell out of his chair.

"Oh, my God; what happened?! You okay?" she looked at him as he winced in pain.

"That... he has to be the most powerful telepath in the... universe..." he breathed out.

"What happened?"

"He... blocked me completely. I'm used to... people using devices to block telepathy. But he did it... without even trying..." he sighed as Tabitha helped him back in the chair. He gave her a weary, apologetic look, "It's safe to say that Martian Manhunter... doesn't want to be found."

"Thanks for trying. I'm sorry..."

 

* * *

 

 

She spent a couple more days in the mansion, allowing Charles and Henry to run a few tests on her, getting to study her DNA strand. She was highly thankful that the man kept his word; it just gave the two joy to be able to look at her blood samples as well as watch her tap fully into her abilities. As part of the deal, Charles took her to see Eric in his underground, metal-free cell.

"Henry mentioned that you spoke to him about teaching?" Charles asked suddenly before they entered the building. Tabitha laughed and rolled her eyes.

"I knew he was gonna twist my words around! I wanted to know would it be alright if my best friend could teach once in a while. Like a special guest professor? I mean, she ain't like some super genius but... she helped with the potion that keeps my baby from killing me. She also teaches physics in college."

"That sounds interesting. Give her my contact information and I'll speak to her." he nodded. As they made their way towards the solitary cell, they were patted down by guards. Guards with ice and plastic guns, Tabitha noticed. One of the guards cleared his throat impatiently, drawing her attention. He pointed at her necklace.

"No metals..." he stated.

"Oh! Sorry..." she gave the necklace to him. She looked at Charles' wheelchair, "Uh... do I gotta carry him in or..."

"Oh, I'm not visiting him right now. I'm confident that we both want to know the same thing and that Eric will give you the answers you need." he told her. She gave him a nod as a walkway slid towards the plastic cell in the middle of a platform. Eric looked up from his chair and watched as Tabitha and a guard made their way towards the door. He smirked past her at Charles before putting his attention on her. She was in plain clothes, a simple t-shirt and jeans while her hair was wrapped in what looked like another t-shirt tied into a tight bun in the back.

"So, you **are** one of Charles' students..."

"I ain't a student of no one's." she knew that she would usually glare at those who were villains. She gave him a simple glance before looking around the cell. There was no metal anywhere; they made sure that Eric wouldn't take advantage at all. Her eyes landed on a chess table in the middle of the room.

"I suppose you'd like to start a game with me?"

"I... I ain't no good but...I guess." she shrugged and pulled up a chair. Even the chess pieces were plastic, she realized. Eric sat across from her and waved a hand towards her.

"You're white so you go first..."

"... I knew that..." she said sheepishly and thought about her first move. She moved her pawn and it was Eric's turn to think, "I hope you ain't tryna distract me. I wanna know a few things."

"You or Charles?"

"Both, I guess. Why were you attacking me and my friend?"

"It wasn't personal but the three of you were in my way. Or at the very least were trying to stop me."

"Stop you from doing what?" she wasn't surprised that he made a quick move.

"Destroying a cure for mutants."

"What...?" Tabitha was no longer interested in making a move.

"I have my sources. And they said that an independent company was not only tinkering with a cure but have successfully manufactured one. It is your move, my child..."

"B-But... wait... I ain't your kid!"

"You might as well be. You remind me of my oldest. You are like me."

"I'm nothing like you!" she barked and made a move. Eric laughed a little.

"Are you saying that you don't enjoy being a mutant? That you would rather be cured?"

"I wasn't... born this way." she finally made a move.

"I see. You have remarkable abilities. Why would you want to give them up?"

"I've... been with 'em for so long; they're a part of me, now. I don't think I could imagine life without 'em. But... what if someone wants to be cured? Who are you to deny that to someone? I met this girl, she couldn't be no older than me. She can't touch no one. At all. Ever. That's fucking horrible; she never asked for that! If she wants to be normal... by God, let her!"

"If only it was that simple. By the way... I don't know your name." he looked down at the game and captured Tabitha's pawn. She grumbled and thought about her next move.

"... Tabitha."

"Tabitha, I can tell right now that you play too aggressively. Sometimes a good defense is the best offense."

"Well, I don't play that often so..."

"Practice makes perfect. Tabitha... the humans want to wage war on us. They'll start with the promise of a cure. It's strange that a mutant didn't produce the cure. Oh; I'm pretty sure that a mutant was **used** for it."

"I admit that's kinda fucked up. But... I don't think it would've been forced on anyone."

"How long before it would? Do you even know about the struggle between humans and mutants?"

"I guess... Charles was right. I'm kinda protected because I'm part of a group that's praised. We're known to protect mankind. I mean, there's some folks who don't like that there's a large group of superhumans who can pretty much do what they want and get away with it... if they went that way. But, for the most part, we're loved. So, no; I don't know the true struggle."

"You're a part of the Justice League. You're right; you're not like me. You choose to hide who you are, just like Charles' group. You should be proud of who you are. Why hide it?"

"Because of people like you who like to hurt innocent people!"

"I oppose those who oppose mutants! There is nothing 'innocent' about them! They're looking to exterminate us! And mutants like you and your group are turning a blind eye to it! You have human friends; do they know what you are?"

"Yeah..." she glared at him; the very thought that anyone would hurt her friends, particularly Jamila, again started to boil her blood.

"People who accept mutants are safe from my wrath, if it makes you feel better."

"It doesn't..."

"But those people are far and in between. Face it, Tabitha; the only thing that humanity believes is that anyone who is different should be punished or destroyed. We are different and therefore, we're the threat."

"No. **You're** the threat: I protect the humans from people like **you**!"

"There's no need to be upset over the truth. You may not see it now but believe me, it will happen. There will be a war between us and the humans. No matter how much your group will try to deter it... it will happen. I only hope that you choose the right side."

"What side is that?"

"The one that opposes the extinction of mutants. We are the most dominant species. And yet we have to hide who we are."

"Just because we have powers don't mean we're dominant. Just means we're special. I don't like that I gotta hide who I am. But I also don't like when people run away from me cuz I'm different. It's never happened but I don't wanna go through that."

"However, once you put that mask on, you're considered a superheroine. That doesn't strike you as odd? Contradicting? What is the difference between the Tabitha sitting before me... and the Tabitha that puts on the mask and costume? She is one in the same." he looked at her. Tabitha stared at him for a moment before putting her eyes back on the game. She didn't want to admit that he could be right. There was no difference between herself and her superhero personas. Her powers existed no matter what; even her personality stayed the same. She disguised her voice only to throw people off. However, there were quite a few villains who knew who she was. Even Peter asked her once who she was hiding from.

She shook her head slightly and made her move.

"I think ya tryna distract me from the game, now! Look... if you ever get outta here... I won't come after you! But if you interfere with my job then you'll have hell to pay!" she gave him a look. Eric smirked.

"I'm looking forward to it..."

 

* * *

 

 

She stretched out on one of the love sofas in the main recreation room. She surfed aimlessly until she found what looked like a soap opera; she ignored the fact that it was in Spanish and concentrated on their expressions and movements. They all had the same story lines, no matter the language, she shrugged in her mind. She caught some basic words she remembered from school: bueno meant good, muerto had to do with death; several irate women called people pendejo and puta but she had no idea what it meant. She assumed something bad due to the expressions of the people being called that!

Bruce was surprised to see Tabitha instead of one of the bilingual members; he had no idea that she knew Spanish! He sat on the arm of the sofa and watched with her.

"What's happening?" he asked. She shrugged and stuffed her mouth with a handful of potato chips, "What do you mean, you don't know?" he laughed.

"I dunno what the hell they're saying! Ain't no subtitles. It looked intense. Pretty sure that someone's pregnant with another guy's baby or someone who everyone thought was dead came back in town; usual shit for soaps!"

"Everything go okay in Dakota? You've been gone for a while." he mentioned. She sat up fully and motioned for a soda can on the table. Bruce widened his eyes as the can flew to her hand. She gave it a slight lift towards him before opening it, "Everything went very well!"

"Took a side trip to New York; P needed my help..." she figured that she would tell him before he found out from elsewhere. Bruce narrowed his eyes at her.

"As in, fighting when you're not supposed to..."

"As in I kicked the guy's ass and didn't break out into a sweat! I had help but still; it was over with before it began! I stopped an invisible wave... and threw it back at him!"

"An invisible... you can control magnetic pulse waves?! Huh. You can control every aspect of the magnetic field."

"I guess so. Impressive?" she asked honestly as she took a sip of her soda.

"Very!" he smiled at her. She gave him a smile back before going back to the soap opera. The two sat in silence as they watched the scenes unfold before a commercial break.

"Bruce?"

"Yeah?"

"...... There's a cure for me..."

* * *

 [1] Now a phrase commonly connected to Wolverine, the origin of the saying goes back to X-Men Vs Street Fighter video game.

 

[Aero Chord- Surface: fight scene theme](https://youtu.be/BrCKvKXvN2c)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Another chapter! I've been pretty busy these past few months and May started out as hectic as ever! I won't get into details except to say that I had to deal with two birthdays, a death and an impromptu trip for a funeral. I did somehow manage to finish this chapter up in between all of that!
> 
> "Pendejo" is Spanish for... well, calling someone an idiot in the most brutal way possible to narrow it down! And "puta" is Spanish for whore. Hey; you learned something today! ^_^
> 
> Two more chapters until the end, guys! Let's see: no graduations to attend this month but another birthday and then Memorial Day. Shouldn't be too much on me, right? -___-


	11. The End of Days? Part 1

** Chapter Eleven: The End of Days? **

He didn't recall how long it had been since he escaped; it didn't matter to him. The most important thing on his mind was attempting to bring Brainiac back. No one but his personal physician knew that he was dying. After handling Kryptonite for so long, the rock that was deadly to Superman had given Lex Luthor terminal cancer.

He had no idea when his agenda to get rid of Superman cascaded into the rest of the Justice League. For the longest, his beef was only with the Man of Steel. Instead of questioning his recent actions, he let them fuel him. He had no idea that he was being manipulated and controlled by Brainiac until that fateful evening.

It made sense, he realized. His last checkup proved that he was cancer free, as if the infected cells were never there. He always kept himself in shape but noticed that he was stronger than before. Even his mind was sharper. Not once did Luthor want to question any of it. If anything, he felt rejuvenated. Brainiac had given him another chance at life… and he wanted him back.

He was running out of ideas as far as how to summon Brainiac back. Luthor nearly exhausted every possible way he knew of. Something came across his mind one night: he hadn’t used telepathy. After his escape, Luthor gathered a few villains into a group in order to exact revenge on the Justice League all the while rebuilding his trust back with the human population. Gorilla Grodd was a part of the Legion of Doom, as well as the one who helped him escape prison. He was also the only one who was telepathic. Luthor only had to figure out how to manipulate him without him knowing.

Even **he** couldn’t pull off a feat like that. However, he thought that if he could find something that resonated with his powers, Luthor could use that instead of the gorilla himself. Besides, he had a feeling that Grodd knew how to resurrect Brainiac; he **did** have a fragment of his android body. While Luthor knew that he couldn’t manipulate Grodd, he could very well have him imprisoned! That move, along with his previous actions caused a sense of distrust with the other members. However, all Luthor had to offer was his word of a get rich quick plan; he knew that it would pacify most of the Legionnaires. The others he would have to deal with once Brainiac was reunited with him.

Luthor intended to use Grodd’s mind-control helmet against him, forcing any information the gorilla had about Brainiac. He’d used mind-control devices before and thought nothing of it; the worst that could happen would be that Grodd’s mind was strong enough to resist: he would get nothing. Luthor didn’t expect to feel the tinge of pain that he did as soon as he fitted the helmet on his head. He groaned as a white light enveloped him if only for a second before the room came back into focus. Instead of looking at a smug Grodd, Luthor was looking at a man in a blue suit with golden gloves, cape and a helmet.

“Did it work…?”

“… What…?” Luthor tried to make sense of everything. Was Grodd’s helmet so strong, it knocked him into a sort of third dimension?

“Did it work? Are you okay? Flash…”

“Flash? What?!” he looked down at himself. Sure enough, he was wearing the all too familiar red suit.

“Oh. This isn’t good. You’re… not Flash… are you…?”

“You don’t say…” Luthor smiled at the man. It didn’t take him long to figure out what happened: Grodd’s helmet had somehow switched his mind with the Flash’s. He had no time to question how it happened; now that someone realized that he wasn’t the Flash, he needed a way to escape. Maybe he should’ve tried to play along…

Escaping the room was easy; maybe being stuck in the Flash’s body wouldn’t be so bad after all! Luthor dashed out of the room and down the hallway, before he realized another problem; he had no idea where he was! Using the Flash’s speed, Luthor zipped through the corridors until he realized where he was: he stopped in front of a panoramic window and gazed into the depths of space, the Earth’s atmosphere in slight view. He was on Watchtower.

Another idea processed; he **could** cause a bit of mayhem while on board! The Flash was a bit childish; everyone knew that. But if Luthor made the Flash into a menace, there was a high chance that the group could disown him. One less superhero to worry about. Or… one more “do-gooder” on his side. That thought made him realize one more thing: if **he** was in the Flash’s body… where was the Flash?

“Oh, no…”

 

“Aaahhh… this is just wrong!![1]

 

Luthor sighed heavily; it was a good thing that he had speed on his side! The priority of leaving was of the utmost importance however he felt that he could cause some chaos before leaving! After dashing about the space station, grabbing the attention of nearby League members, Luthor realized that he was famished. Of course, he thought to himself; using his ability burned calories at a higher rate than normal: he needed energy.

He found the cafeteria easily and figured that while he was running away from the pursuing members, he had time to grab something to eat. After grabbing several things to eat, he made his way back into the hallway and into a bathroom before the others realized where he went.

“Okay. This is getting tedious. I need to get out of here. But first…” he noticed the mirror and smirked, “I can at least learn the Flash’s identity!” Luthor unmasked and stared back at the reflection. He frowned, “I have no idea who this is.”[2]

Putting the mask back on, Luthor shrugged and listened for any movement in the hallway. He figured that he’d caused enough damage and it was high time to plan his escape. He needed to find where the bridge was. As he zoomed through the hallways, he bumped into a ladder. He would’ve ignored it but then the excessive swearing grabbed his attention. Luthor turned only to see Tabitha falling from the ladder. He caught her just in time as she scowled at him.

“Damnit, Wally!”

“… Sorry. Guess I was in a hurry?”

“Very funny, smart ass! Why **are** you speeding through here? And, put me down!” he forgot that she was still in his arms. Luthor put her back on her feet and studied her. She’d changed her costume and it was clear whom she was paying tribute to, “Um… what’s with the looks?”

“You’ve… put on some weight…” Luthor realized. Tabitha’s eyes widened.

“If ya tryna call me fat in a nice way, I swear to God…”

“Don’t take it the wrong way; you fill out very nicely, my dear.”

“…Wait… what…?” the blush spread rapidly across her cheeks. Did she hear him right, she wondered. She knew that Wally was a natural flirt but she was never on the receiving end; the closest he came to doing so was admitting that she was pretty!

Commotion from the other end of the hallway made Luthor perk up; he spent too much time admiring the lightning woman that the League members caught up to him. He smirked and began to run once more.

“Tabitha, stop him!” she turned to the approaching members: Kent Nelson, John and Michael.

“What’s… going on? What’s up with Wally?”

“That’s not Wally! I don’t know who it is but he’s content in causing as much chaos as he can!” Kent explained; the imposter fled before he could stop him.

That made more sense than Wally flirting with her, Tabitha realized. She joined the group as they ran after “Wally”, replaying his behavior towards her. The anger began to boil inside of her before she could control it and she stopped dead in her tracks, “Shit. Holy shit!”

“What?” Michael looked at her.

“I know who it is! It’s Luthor. How did he…”

“Mentally, it’s him. I was… trying to track down Grodd by tracing his resonance he left on Wally.” Kent tried to explain.

“Luthor must have been around something that had Grodd’s psychic resonance around the same time you started your process.” Michael realized.

“Can it be reversed? The process. Or is Wally stuck in his body?” Tabitha asked.

“I believe I can reverse it. But we have to catch him and sedate him.” Kent nodded.

“How do you know it’s Luthor?” John looked at Tabitha.

“He flirted with me. Wally would never do that. The… the son-of-a-bitch called me ‘my dear’!” she seethed as they went back on their chase, “I’ll hit the control room and put the station on lock down. We could probably outnumber him if I give out a warning as well.”

“Good idea. We’ll try to keep him distracted until he’s cornered…” John nodded.

“Guys… be careful. This ain’t Wally we’re dealing with.” Tabitha reminded them before she did a Lightning Cloud through the hallway.

Luthor couldn’t believe his luck; he found what looked like a control room. Studying the buttons on the console, he was surprised at how easy it was to locate the one for communication as well as transmit a signal. He didn’t hesitate to send a message to the Legion of Doom, informing them that their Luthor was an imposter. He found the teleportation pads but as he was figuring out how to use them, Tabitha entered the room.

“Stop… Luthor!”

“I see you’ve figured me out. What gave it away?”

“Never mind the fact that Wa… Flash wouldn’t…”

“Please; I already know who the Flash is! At the very least that his name is Wally! Seems to me that you have two choices: let me leave or stop me. Now that I have… Wally’s powers, you have no chance of beating me!”

“And here I thought you knew me…” she scoffed before performing a Lightning Cloud. Luthor took in a breath before he felt the full force of her charged fist; the blow was enough to knock him away from the teleportation pads, “Man, if only the face matched the mind; that would’ve been **so** satisfying!” she stalked over to him, “Wally trained with me… and I hit harder than him! You’re shit outta luck!” she gave him a smirk. Luthor rubbed at his cheek.

“That you do. But what you fail to realize is that you’re not dealing with Wally…”

“Fuck…” she realized that he was right. She forgotten about the warning she gave the others. She quickly clicked on her communicator, “Control room!” was all she could give out as a warning before Luthor rushed at her. She barely twisted out of the way and sent a streak of lightning towards him. Tabitha cursed yet again as she missed. Before she could do anything, she felt a hand around her throat. Luthor slammed her onto the floor with force, making her grunt out in pain.

“I don’t want to hurt you, my dear. But you’re content in hurting me. A man has to defend himself, you know…”

“Fuck you…” she strained out; he still had a firm grip around her neck. Tabitha released all of her lightning, engulfing both in a quick flash of light. She was satisfied as the pressure around her neck was gone, “Oops… too much power…” she gave him a wicked smile; the power behind her attack knocked him away a few feet. Tabitha slowly approached him, hoping that the move was enough to knock him out. She sucked in a breath as she stared at the bruised body; if Wally returned to his own body, he wouldn’t be happy!

She was caught off guard when he suddenly grabbed her and put her in a rear chokehold. Luthor looked to see Michael, Kent and John run into the room. He posed his fingers like a gun at Tabitha’s temple.

“Teleport me out of here or I’ll scramble her brains!”[3] he warned. They made their way towards the teleportation pads.

“Thought you ‘loved’ me…” Tabitha grunted; the thought actually sickened her.

Something wasn’t right, Luthor felt. He knew that he hadn’t been through the entire space station. Yet there were two superheroes he knew for sure he would run into: Superman… and Martian Manhunter. He knew that Superman’s favorite turf was Metropolis so chances were a bit slim he would be aboard. Where was the Martian? He regretted making the threat; he thought for sure that the Martian would appear and make good on the threat he issued long ago!

“Sorry; this is strictly business.”

“Okay. Don’t do anything rash…” Michael made his way to the main control panel. It puzzled Tabitha; the control panel for teleportation was by the pads; she was close to telling Luthor what an idiot he was for not realizing that. She had to think about what was on the main control system that would stop Luthor from escaping. When she finally realized it, a slow smile crept across her face.

“And, she’s coming with me. Just in case you send someone to follo-oof!” his words were cut short as his breath left him. Tabitha jabbed Luthor in his stomach as hard as she could, making him release her. She held onto the small control panel as Michael turned off the artificial gravity in the room. He smirked as Luthor became weightless.

“What will you do now? Speed is useless without gravity!” Michael taunted. Luthor rolled his eyes and scoffed as he started to use the Flash’s speed ability to lower himself down. It was something he knew the imposter Flash would do; Michael immediately switched the gravity back on which made Luthor slam into the ground. Tabitha got her grounding and checked on the unconscious Luthor. She smiled up at the others.

“Hey, Dr. Fate; I think your patient just euthanized himself!”[4]

“… That’s anesthetized…” Michael corrected. A faint distress signal scanned across the console while John and Tabitha lifted Luthor off the floor. Michael quickly traced the coordinates.

“What’s that?”

“A distress signal. I hope it’s Wally. I’ll send a team just in case.”

“Oh! I can…”

“No. Help Kent out. Luthor seems fond of you so it may be for the best.”

“Don’t remind me! You want him to hold off on the mind-switchy-thingy?”

“I’m not sure this is Wally so go ahead.” he nodded as he summoned a few Justice League members. Kent and Tabitha put Luthor in one of the containment rooms as Tabitha tied him tightly to a chair.

“I’ll begin the process. It’ll be better since he’s restrained.”

“Especially his hands. Could Wally actually do that? Turn someone’s brains into mush just by vibrating his fingers…?”

“It’s highly possible. But someone like Wally would never even think of doing something like that.”

“Yeah… he’s not an asshole…” she shook her head at the man in front of her. Kent chuckled as he began the reversal process.

The last thing Wally remembered was being manhandled by the group of super villains. Earlier, Gorilla Grodd in captivity mocked at his attempt to pass as Lex Luthor; he was determined to prove him wrong! He learned about some elaborate scheme that had to do with stealing euros, a train car full. Wally was doing fairly well until Dr. Polaris asked if he knew his real name. He panicked and tried to send a distress signal to Watchtower but was apprehended.

His hopes were high when he saw a few Justice League members appear: Steel, Ice and Doctor Light. However, the villainous group proved a better match; while they didn't take the money, they escaped with Wally in tow. He could already imagine the sneer that the gorilla would have when a flash of light startled him, followed by darkness. 

The one thing he noticed was how sore he was; he absolutely ached! The second? He couldn't move. He moaned as he slowly opened his eyes and sighed for relief when he saw Green Lantern, Tabitha and Dr. Fate staring at him.

"... Wally...?"

"Tabby..." he sighed out, "Why the hell does my face hurt so much?!" he worked his jaw. She blushed slightly.

"It's either from me hitting you or from when you slammed into the ground... or a combination of both..."

 "It **sounds** like Wally. Is there any way to be sure?"[5] John asked. Tabitha thought for a moment before narrowing her eyes.

"... Do you think I'm pretty?"

"Umm..."

"We won't find out that way!"

"You want proof? Great white..." Wally gave Tabitha a wide smile. Flustered, she quickly covered his mouth.

"I-It's him! Only two people know about that conversation!" she untied him.

"Wally. You were in Grodd's secret headquarters. Anything you can tell us about it?"[6] Michael asked as he entered the room. Wally let out a defeated sigh.

"Only thing I noticed was that it's in a swamp somewhere.”

“That could be Florida or Louisiana…”

“Or Maryland, Indiana, Georgia…”

“Wait…”

“… Several parts of South America… you can find swamps all over the world.” Michael continued.

“Okay. Sooo… we could dispatch members to several locations.”

“I honestly wouldn’t waste the manpower. You **do** know that the Amazon and Congo are considered swamps, right?” John eyed Tabitha. She whistled.

“That’s a lot of land to cover.”

“Exactly! We’ll just have to be on the lookout; it’s our safest bet. It’s likely their base is in one of the larger swamp areas, somewhere that’s less travelled.” Michael nodded.

“Makes sense. I’ll notify Supes.” Tabitha said. John, Kent and Michael left the room as she looked at Wally, “You okay?”

“Yeah. Especially now that I’m back in my own body. Weirdest experience ever! So… you and Luthor really did have sex.” his comment threw her off guard. She immediately blushed and looked away.

“N-Not like I got any memory of it… thank God! Wait; how’d you know about it?”

“Tala. She’s obsessed with Lex and beyond jealous! Asked me was she better than you! I totally winged it!”

“You… you had sex with her?!”

“Not like I had a choice! I had to be Luthor, remember?”

“That… should’ve tipped her off that it wasn’t him; he doesn’t like her!”

“Aw, man; you mean I **didn’t** have to sleep with her?!”

“On the bright side, you can use that to your advantage…”

“I don’t wanna think about it…” Wally mumbled as Tabitha laughed.

* * *

[1] Taken from Justice League Unlimited episode, “The Great Brain Robbery”. Wally realizes that he is in Luthor’s body.

[2] Taken from Justice League Unlimited episode, “The Great Brain Robbery”.

[3] Paraphrased from Justice League Unlimited episode, “The Great Brain Robbery”.

[4] Paraphrased from Justice League Unlimited episode, “The Great Brain Robbery”. It’s actually Mr. Terrific that states “Dr. Fate, I think your patient just anesthetized himself.”

[5] Taken from Justice League Unlimited episode, “The Great Brain Robbery”.

[6] Paraphrased from Justice League Unlimited episode, “The Great Brain Robbery”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii, guys! ^_^ I'm back! Just a quick note here: one more part and then it's the last chapter! :( I got a new computer, a Mac. And when I transferred everything over, it separated ALL of the files. So, all of my folders and my playlists are gone. There are two songs that apply to The End of Days? segments so thank goodness I remembered them! You won't see them until the end of the next segment! 
> 
> Thank you so much for being patient with me! I have a few readers who are asking about my other works. I don't know if you read the Lyght series as well but I want to apologize for the delay in anything. As soon as this book is finished, I'll be able to concentrate more on my WIPs that have been put on hold, I promise!


	12. The End of Days? Part 2

The brain swap was a minor setback in Luthor's plans to resurrect Brainiac. Grodd was still in prison on their base but it didn't stop him from continuing his research. The gorilla was useless or at the very least uncooperative. Luthor couldn't afford to let that sidetrack him, again.

Tala wanted badly for Luthor to warm up to her. She guiltily enjoyed whoever it was that swapped brains with him; he was what she longed for! It didn't stop her from trying to be helpful and sweet to him. Regardless of the fact that he always showed a great interest in that white-haired jezebel!

She saw that he also obsessed with bringing Brainiac back. Part of her didn't blame him, due to what Brainiac had done to him. The other part wondered what else he expected; immortality? She knew that she would just be grateful for having another chance at life. Nevertheless, she wanted to show her support.

Tala watched as Lex fussed over the fragment of Brainiac.

"Lex... you need a break. It looks like nothing is working."

"As always, you know nothing. Your claim to fame is magic and voodoo. This is science." he rolled his eyes. Tala fumed as she approached him, taking the sample away from him.

“My ‘claim to fame’ is transmutation… something that would help this situation! Alchemy is a form of science!” she didn’t wait for Luthor to give her permission. Tala immediately started to warp her magic around the fragment. She admitted that she wasn’t fully concentrating on the task; she wondered how a man who claimed to be such a genius wouldn’t know that. Tala realized that it was a lost cause: Luthor had no interest in her whatsoever. Even Grodd knew what she specialized in!

Lex waited with anticipation, expecting to see Brainiac appear before their eyes. He was never a man to ask for help. However, he had the urge to kick himself for not asking Tala. He never realized that she would be of any real help; she **was** the one who decided to summon a demon to possess Tabitha! Luthor figured that if what she was doing worked, he would have to be civil to her.

The area around him started to fade as he watched Tala. His heart thumped as he waited; he expected to see Brainiac! After his surroundings dissipated, Luthor couldn’t help but to be disappointed. In its place was a belt of asteroids. It didn’t make sense to him at first; why was he in space? He took a closer look and realized that it was no ordinary asteroid belt. In the middle was clearly more debris, as if something was destroyed. One floated by him and he was certain that it had some sort of symbol on it. Luthor’s eyes widened right before he was sucked away.

He blinked a few times and saw that he was back in his lab, Tala retracting her magic away from the fragment.

“I’m sorry. It didn’t work.” she tried. Luthor shook his head with a smirk on his face.

“Actually… it did. Come on; we have work to do.”

 

 

“The Bronze Wraith…?”

“Don’t look at me like that! It… came to me in a dream! It sounded cool and so I stuck with it!”

“You seriously couldn’t think of anything better than that?”

“Not without it sounding like I married him!” Tabitha blushed. Wally let out a small laugh.

“Huh; true. But still; do you even know what a wraith is?”

“Something awesome…?”

“A ghost, Tabby. A phantom.”

“… Really…? Damnit!”

“Hey, Clark; come here!” Wally summoned Kal-El into the room with the two, “What do you think about Tabby’s new alias?”

“Oh? I didn’t know you changed it.”

“The Bronze Wraith.” Tabitha sighed out. Kal-El gave her a simple smile.

“Hmm. That actually fits you.”

“Ha! See? It fits!” she stuck her tongue out at Wally.

“But, there’s nothing ghostly about her…”

“Her hair could be considered ghostly. And wraith has another meaning: a faint trace.”

“Well… I still say she could’ve thought of something better!”

“Yeah? Like what?” Tabitha asked. Wally thought for a moment.

“Human Manshocker…”

“… That… what?!”

“And that makes me glad you didn’t come up with your alias, ‘Go Faster Man’!” Kal-El laughed. One of the civilian staff members interrupted their laughter.

“Sir! There’s someone outside to see you!”

“… Okay…” Kal-El looked at the man curiously.

“It’s… Lex Luthor, sir!” his words put everyone else on alert.

“No way…”

“It’s… it’s a trap…” Tabitha narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t think so, ma’am. He’s not alone.”

“I’ll tell the others; there’s no way you’re gonna face ‘em by yourself!” Tabitha immediately left the room. She ran into Bruce before getting to the control room.

“Where’s the fire?” he smirked at her. He lost his playful mood when she gave him a serious look.

“Luthor’s outside and he got company with him. Asked to see Clark.”

“That’s not good. I’ll go with him.”

“I dunno how many with him.”

“Bring as many as you can, then.”

“Right…” Tabitha made her way to the control room and alerted the members in Metro Tower. When they gathered, she gave one-half instructions to stay on guard inside while the others would come with her. There weren’t many in Metro Tower however, she knew she could contact Michael to teleport others if needed. She left with Diana, S.T.R.I.P.E., John, Atom Smasher, Red Tornado, Captain Atom, Metamorpho and Kent to join Bruce and Kal-El outside.

They were indeed greeted by a handful of villains with Lex Luthor in the forefront. Tabitha looked over the others; only two she encountered before: Killer Frost and Heatwave. The others she had never seen before. Luthor gave her a quick smile before resting his eyes on Kal-El.

“We have a little problem…”[1]

“You’re gonna have a bigger one in a second! What’re you doing here?!” Tabitha narrowed her eyes at him.

“To warn you that Darkseid is going to invade Earth… soon.” his words made everyone’s eyes widen. Tabitha looked at everyone.

“Okay. An invasion is very bad. But who the hell is Darkseid?”

“There’s no time to explain, if what he says is true. Which is impossible; Darkseid is dead.” Kal-El glared at Luthor.

“He looked very much alive when he tried to kill us.” Luthor rolled his eyes. He explained quickly what happened. How his obsession with Brainiac led to his team remodeling their headquarters into a space station in order to reach the asteroid belt where the android once resided. He used Tala as bait to conjure Brainiac but by that time, she realized that was all she was to him. Instead of resurrecting Brainiac, she resurrected a Brainiac-infused Darkseid before succumbing to her end.

The new god and ruler of Apokolips wasted no time in destroying the base and returned to Apokolips to reclaim the planet. He also made plans on conquering their sister, more peaceful planet New Genesis as well as settling his score with Superman. The surviving members of the Legion of Doom gathered that much as Sinestro and Star Sapphire shielded them from the deadly blast. They made their way back to Earth by stealing a small computer called the Mother Box to open a boom tube to their destination.

“This was all their fault! They need to be arrested!”

“I second that notion.” Kal-El agreed with Tabitha. The Legion of Doom members scoffed and scowled.

“If you think you’re locking us up while the whole world will be under attack, you got two fights on your hands!"[2] Giganta barked.

“You wanna have a go? Let’s do this! We got more members and I guarantee that ass **will** get whooped!” Tabitha started to charge up. Everyone prepared to attack one another until a blaring alarm sounded from the building.

“We’re receiving word that boom tube portals have opened all over the world; I’m releasing an omega-level alert.” Michael’s voice blared through everyone’s communicator.

“What’s coming out of ‘em?” Tabitha asked before Kal-El could.

“Parademons and Darkseid’s ground troops. It’s a full scaled invasion!”

“Shit…” she sighed out and looked at Kal-El, “It’s already started…”

“Instead of containing us, we can fight with you.” Luthor offered.

“No, fuck you! Ain’t no way we’re gonna let you…”

“Hey, we may be criminals but this is our home, too!” Atomic Skull tried to reason.

“They have a point. Besides, we’ll need all the bodies we can throw at this.”[3] Bruce held Tabitha back. She eyed him.

“Ten extra folks ain’t gonna make a difference! I’d rather get doc and the trips to help than **him**!”

“I know that you don’t trust me anymore, Tabitha…”

“‘Anymore’?! I’ve **never** trusted you! Why should any of us start **now**?!”

“If you haven’t noticed, we’re under attack! But, let’s be clear about this: you’re only here to help **me** get revenge on Darkseid, all of you. When this is over… back to business as usual.”[4] he retorted. Kal-El glared at him.

“Fine. But, you don’t call the shots around here…”

“This is so much bullshit…” Tabitha mumbled.

“… Tabitha does…” Kal-El finished.

“W-What…?” she looked at him.

“You and Mr. Terrific are the Monitors. Put us in groups; tell us where to go.” he nodded towards her. Tabitha thought for a moment.

“Mike, when you said ‘all over the world’, you meant that literally?” she pressed on her communicator.

“Yes!”

“Okay.” she took a deep breath and finally looked at the two groups. While she didn’t know most of the super villains, she had an idea of who wouldn’t worked well with her fellow League members, “S.T.R.I.P.E., hit London.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Fire head…”

“Atomic Skull…” he sighed.

“Whatever. Go to D.C. Um… you…” she pointed to Giganta, “You’ll go with Green Lantern and the Flash to Paris. Wonder Woman, take the female Lantern to China. Uh… zombie Superman…”

“Me Bizarro. Me am hero!”

“… Right. Go to Rome. Yellow Lantern, head to Tokyo. Captain Atom, you got Sydney. Atom Smasher, take the fire woman to Argentina. Red Tornado and Dr. Fate: go to Cairo and take the… doll person. Metamorpho, you go with Frost to Venice. That leaves the rest of us here.” Tabitha ordered.

“Maybe you should stay here in Metro Tower.” Bruce gave her a slight look of concern. Tabitha was about to agree until Kal-El shook his head.

“You said it yourself; the more bodies, the better. You and Luthor team up.”

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me!”

“He seems to… ‘behave’ more around you.” he explained to Tabitha. Before she could protest, faint whirring noises came from the skies. The small group looked up as two boom tube portals opened, one unleashing a horde of Parademons while a massive black ship appeared from the other.

“Darkseid?”

“Darkseid. Looks like that’s at the Daily Planet. We got him; you and Luthor head for the other boom tube.”

“Fine…” Tabitha sighed and glared at Luthor.

The two encountered less Parademons than expected; they both figured that the green and gold armor cladded beings were more than likely with Darkseid. The two made quick work of the numerous things and made their way back towards the Daily Planet.

“You were a bit sluggish back there…”

“Mind your business…” Tabitha mumbled.

“I couldn’t help but to notice that Batman wanted you to stay behind. Oh…” Luthor stopped dead in his tracks and studied her.

“Oh, my God, what?! We’re dealing with an alien invasion and you wanna make googly eyes at me?! I should’ve locked your ass up when I had the chance!”

“… You’re injured.”

“Ain’t nothing wrong with me; I’m fine!”

“Then, why else would he want you to stay behind while the rest of us fight? Oh; you’re not injured. You’re… pregnant. That explains the weight gain… and the glow. Is Batman the only one that knows?”

“This don’t concern you.” Tabitha took deep breaths; she was quickly losing her patience with the man.

“I really don’t condone you being out here in your condition. Does the Martian know… wait… he isn’t here.”

“Shut up…”

“Because he would’ve been the first one down here… to protect you. I wouldn’t be able to get this close to you, either.”

“I said, shut up!” the hit that landed on his jaw sent Luthor to the ground. Her hands radiated with heat that traveled throughout the rest of her body. Tabitha glared at him as Luthor rubbed at his jaw.

“You can beat me to an inch of my life; it won’t change the fact that he left you and your child!” he spat out. Tabitha’s eyes widened at his words before they narrowed in anger. He didn’t have any right to say those things, she fumed. She clenched her fists so tight, her nails dug into her palms. Electricity wavered throughout her entire body as she approached him. For the second time since laying his eyes on her, Lex Luthor feared her. He knew what she was capable of and there was no one to hold her back this time around.

In her mind, the invasion didn’t matter. She wanted to end Luthor for everything he had done to her. Intruding into her dreams. Kidnapping her. And now bringing up old wounds. Wasn’t it bad enough that she couldn’t get a hold of J’onn? That even one of the strongest telepaths with his high tech gear couldn’t get a hold of him.

That last thought was enough to make her calm down. As much as it pained her, he was right in a way. The Martian didn’t have to leave. And what stopped him from returning or even responding to her? Charles Xavier had a point as well: if one of the world’s best telepaths didn’t want to be found, there wasn’t anything anyone could do. She eased out of her tensed state and turned around.

“You don’t know shit…”

“Tabitha…”

“You say another fucking word to me and I’ll shoot lightning down your gaddamn throat! This was the worst idea ever!” she started to say more but Diana’s distress call rang into her ear.

“We need more help here!”

“I’m on the way.” Tabitha quickly made the decision.

“Tabitha? Where are you?”

“Metropolis. Don’t worry; Superman and Batman can handle this. Oh, and Luthor. Where exactly are you?”

“The Great Wall. Can’t miss it!” Tabitha could feel the smirk through the communicator. She lost her own as she looked at Luthor. Before he could say anything, she grabbed him, doing a Lightning Cloud towards the spacecraft. Tabitha glared at him before glancing at Bruce.

“Wonder Woman needs help. You three got this?”

“Tabitha…”

“I’m fine!” she grunted before teleporting away. Bruce looked at the bruise on Luthor’s jaw, stifling a laugh.

“What happened there…?”

“… Love tap…” Luthor smirked before joining the two in battle.

 

 

She grumbled even as she teleported to her destination. Tabitha stopped as she saw the chaos and mayhem over the Great Wall of China; where she and Luthor only encountered maybe a dozen Parademons, there were ten times more. She found Wonder Woman, Star Sapphire and Shining Knight battling in mid-air while Vigilante took care of the ground troops. Instead of joining them, a frightening thought occurred as she pressed her communicator.

“Doc…”

“Tabs?!” her friend’s shaky voice put a lump in the middle of her throat.

“Tell me you’re home! Tell me everyone’s home…”

“Y-yeah. What’s…”

“I ain’t got time; get in your basement and stay put! No matter what! I’ll send Ramil and Ash if they ain’t fighting. Just… please… don’t try to fight ‘em unless you have to!”

“They’re… already here. I don’t want them to…”

“They can take care of themselves; they’re Justice League! Let ‘em do their jobs and you stay put; I mean it, doc! I’ll be there as soon as I can…” she made her way towards Vigilante and immediately joined him, wasting no time by shocking a few of the troops.

“The cavalry has arrived!”

“Har-de-fucking-har…” Tabitha rolled her eyes.

“No, seriously; you’re a godsend! Let’s light ‘em up!”

“Huh. I wanna say that’s the first time someone’s ever said that to me!” Tabitha charged up and attacked the incoming horde. As the group of super humans battled, Tabitha realized that the wave seemed endless, “Okay, **why** are there so many?!”

“It’s like this everywhere!” Diana yelled from above.

“Not in Metropolis! Although… Darkseid is there so…”

“Then these are distractions. But we can’t afford to leave civilians in danger! Damn; I’m out…” Vigilante’s guns clicked.

“Help the civilians; those things are only coming after us!”

“Gotcha!”

“I’ll send for more backup if anyone’s available!”

“I can help you!” a distant voice distracted the group. Tabitha turned to see a middle-aged Asian man a few feet away. She refrained from rolling her eyes but glared at the man.

“You speak English which means you understand it: sir, we got this! Please go and find shel…”

“But, I can help!” he insisted. A few Parademons approached the man.

“Oh, for the love of Hera…”

“I got it; damnit, I told you to leave!” she was about to throw her lightning towards the group until she saw the man punch one of the Parademons. She watched in awe as he took care of the small group that came after him, “… Oh… um, Diana… I think he can help us!”

“I see this. Who **is** that?”

“I don’t…” Tabitha continued to watch the man fight off some of the ground troops. She had seen his fighting style before and wondered where. Whoever he was, he was a part of the Justice League, she deducted. Or at least used to be; she hadn’t seen that type of fighting in quite some time. The more she watched however, the more she remembered and let out a gasp, “Oh, my God… it’s… J’onn…”

“Did you say J’onn…?” it was Diana’s turn to stop fighting and look at the man. Before the two women could blink, he took the sky, transforming into a dragon and took care of the remainder Parademons in the air. When everything was clear, he shifted back into what the others knew was his “regular” form, landing a few feet away from Tabitha.

All she could do was stare at him. Everything hit her at once and the only thing she wanted to do was cry. Tabitha didn’t know whether they would be tears of joy or anger; maybe a mix of both. But the one thing that she knew she couldn’t deny: it was great to see him again.

Before a tear could fall, Diana embraced J’onn, snapping him out of his trance. He drew his attention towards Diana.

“J’onn! It’s so good to see you!”

“Likewise. I have much to tell you, all of you.” he looked back at Tabitha who could only blush. She didn’t understand it. He was gone for over a year and yet he was still capable of making her cheeks ache!

“M-Maybe later…? There’s an invasion going on…” Tabitha mumbled as she looked away.

“You’re right. More places need our help. Oh… Tabitha…” J’onn gave her a look. She blushed more as she looked at the other members. Even after a year, he wanted to fall back in place as far as giving out orders.

“Y-Yeah. This area’s cleared. Superman, Batman and Luthor are still in Metropolis fighting Darkseid. Go there and help as much as possible!” she ordered. They all gave her a nod and teleported away, leaving Tabitha alone with J’onn. She took in a breath as he closed the distance between the two, gently cupping her face. He took the time to take in her new outfit, a small smirk appeared on his face: there was his answer. She missed him as much as he missed her.

“As you humans say: you are a sight for sore eyes. You have changed since the last we saw each other…” he continued to look her over. Tabitha blushed for a moment but then narrowed her eyes at him.

“You talking about my weight, aren’t you?”

“That is… noticeable. But not in a bad way!” he rushed.

“J’onn, there’s a rea…” a screeching noise interrupted her train of thought. Tabitha turned and saw quite a few Parademons in her path, “Maybe we should’ve hauled ass with the rest of ‘em…”

“I agree. It wasn’t the right time to try to catch up.” J’onn turned and saw that more Parademons appeared, “Looks like we’ll have to fight our way through them.”

“Not too many of ‘em. Think we can manage…” she smirked at the group approaching her. She was about to charge up until he lightly grabbed her hand.

“I’ve missed you terribly, by the way.”

“Ah… y-yeah. Me, too. T-There’s something I gotta tell you, though…”

“Maybe when we’re done with them?”

“Right…”

“Ready?”

“Locked, cocked and ready to rock!” he released her hand just in time as she charged up. While Tabitha released her energy towards her group of Parademons, J’onn took to the air and charged towards his group. With half of the horde disabled, Tabitha took the opportunity to help J’onn out. The Parademons that were not entangled in J’onn’s wrath, Tabitha shocked. She knew that he was busy but she still wanted to show that she was indeed stronger as her arm went through the chest plate of a Parademon.

“… Ow… huh; metal. Duh…” she rolled her eyes.

“Tabitha!” J’onn warned. While she was pulling her arm away from the Parademon, it was enough to distract her from two quickly approaching her. Before he could help, his eyes widened as she threw her other arm out and stopped the two in mid-attack. With her other hand freed, she clasped both together, making the Parademons collide with one another. Tabitha thrusted her arms out and sent them flying over the wall. She turned to survey the damage and smiled, even as J’onn continued to stare at her in awe.

“Damn; there ain’t no more…?”

“… You’ve learned electromagnetism…”

“I have. Guess we need to go help the others…”

“Lead the way.”

 

 

As Tabitha and J’onn made their way to Metropolis, she received word that the Apokoliptian forces had set up drilling machines to drill into the Earth’s core. She looked at J’onn.

“They’re tryna drill into the Earth’s core.”

“Darkseid wants to turn Earth into another Apokolips; it’s plagued with fire pits.”

“… None of us can survive something like that…”

“I know. I’ll help stop the drilling.”

“J’onn…” she immediately grabbed him by the arm, “You can’t...”

“I will be fine.”

“No. Go… check on doc. And then, check on my folks…”

“Tabitha…”

“We can’t have you dying out there!” she told herself that she would at least admit that, “Send Ashley and Ramil. Unless you’re immune to fire, now…” she gave him a serious look. J’onn gave her a small smile but shook his head.

“I’m not.”

“Ain’t no telling what’ll happen there. Just… do as I say… please?”

“… I will. You’re right. Ramil would be more capable of handling that situation.”

“Thank you.”

"Is this how you felt when you were hindered?" J'onn couldn't help but to chuckle.

"I dunno how you feeling but I'm gonna say yeah!"

"I will return, safely. I promise." he said and left. Tabitha smiled as she made her way towards the destruction. She noticed that Darkseid had the upper hand on Kal-El, which made her wonder exactly how strong the villain was. As she glanced at him, she was reminded that he was infused with Brainiac. Even still, she knew that herself and Bruce had to intervene at all costs.

Tabitha did a Lightning Cloud towards the being, taking him off guard. She had no idea if she would be able to inflict actual pain; her number one priority was to distract! She was glad that he looked her way, dropping the Man of Steel to the ground. He gave her an evil smirk as she charged up and threw lightning his way. He dodged it with ease but now his attention was fully on her.

"Lucky bastard..."

"You're trying to save your friend. How touching."

"I'm tryna save my planet! If you think it's gonna be easy to take over and kill us, you got another thing coming!" she charged up yet again, this time summoning Zeus' powers within her amulet. The sky crackled with lightning as her crystal glowed a bluish-white hue. The currents gathered above her before making their way down in streaks. Bruce made his way towards Kal-El, trying his best to get the two out of harm’s way.

“This is going to be massive…” he grunted. Part of him knew that Superman might be able to withstand the attack. However, he didn’t want to take any chances, especially seeing that the Man of Steel was weak.

Instead of the streaks of lightning engulfing her, they transferred to her amulet. The crystal pulsated with energy as she fed off it. Tabitha released the built up energy towards Darkseid, causing him to fly into the nearest building. The structure crumbled down on him as she joined Kal-El and Bruce.

“You okay?”

“Heh… been better! That was… your full power?”

“With some help from Zeus but yeah.”

“… Might need to take note.”

“For the next time we gotta fight someone like that?”

“No… for in a few moments…”

“Wait… what? But… you saying that…” Tabitha widened her eyes at him.

“It’s a Brainiac-infused Darkseid; the only thing you probably did was tick him off!” Bruce noted.

“But, you **did** buy me some time to get my second wind!” Kal-El said. Tabitha gave him a nod as she rolled her shoulders.

“Right. Time to kick some more ass!”

“No. I appreciate what you’ve done. But, this is my fight. And it’s about time I took off the kid gloves…”

“But…”

“Take care of the rest of the Parademons.” Kal-El narrowed his eyes at the ruins as he took off.

“But… shouldn’t we help him, anyway…?”

“I’d agree with you. But, I know Clark. He always feels like he has something to prove… like someone else I know…” Bruce refrained from rolling his eyes, “Besides, he’s more capable of handling Darkseid than any of us.”

“Never thought I’d live to see the day you take a backseat to a fight…”

“I’m all for upholding justice… but I’m not stupid!” he smirked.

“I just noticed something. Where’s the asshole?”

“Luthor? Huh. Your guess is as good as mine!”

“Great!”

“Maybe… you should go check on your family and Jamila…”

“Oh, um… that’s being taken care of! J’onn’s back…”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Saw him in China. How… how did you know…?

“Know what?”

“That he’d be back?”

“The one thing that you can’t call the Martian is a liar. He said that he would return. And… he loves you, Tabitha. Even if you banished him to another dimension, he would come back to you.” he smirked as she blushed at his words. Bruce wondered if she had the time to tell the Martian that he would be a father yet again. Before he could ask, he saw that a large group of Parademons was heading their way, “We’ll finish the talk after this…”

“Yay, more metal-flying-thingies!” a lone metal plate caught her attention as she summoned for it. As she flicked her wrist, she sent it flying towards the group, knocking each Parademon out cold.

Bruce couldn’t help but to sneak glances at her. Part of the reason was to make sure that she was okay. He should’ve known better; there weren’t too many times that she needed help! Tabitha could take care of herself; as he pulled his last Batarang out the neck of a Parademon, he took the opportunity to watch her. She retrieved a fallen ground trooper’s spear and plunged it deep in the chest of an unsuspecting Parademon. With her electromagnetism, she turned another shield into a boomerang, taking care of the rest of the horde. Why was Bruce so worried about her? Pregnant, he reminded himself. He hoped that since J’onn was back, maybe **he** would talk some sense into the lightning woman!

Kal-El mentally sighed for relief. Violence really wasn’t his thing; whenever he resorted to it, it gave him an agonizing feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew that he was stronger than most so he always had to hold back. Seeing Tabitha using her full power with no remorse made him realize that with Darkseid, he no longer had to hold anything in. The interplanetary tyrant was dazed from the massive attack but still stood on his feet. That told Kal-El all that he needed to know.

He immediately attacked Darkseid, purposely sending the two away from the others. Kal-El felt a slight connection to Tabitha; he, too always had to hold in his true power. It actually felt good to let it all out as he landed a fierce punch to Darkseid’s face. The hit sent him flying into the air, crashing into several buildings. With his super speed, Kal-El was there to greet him in mid-air and delivered a two-handed blow to his back. Darkseid plummeted back to the ground, creating a large crater in the middle of the street. The impact caused a small sonic wave that caught the attention of everyone.

"S-Shit..." Tabitha widened her eyes, "Well! If he ain't dead..." she rushed to the edge of the crater to see the damage. Tabitha took in a breath as she watched Darkseid slowly get up. He glared at the Man of Steel who was standing in front of him.

"I grow tired of this hand-to-hand combat." he threw his arms out. Crackling blue currents of energy formed around his hands and shot out towards Kal-El. He immediately dropped to his knees, screaming out in pain.

“Okay; **now** it’s time to help!” Tabitha was about to rush to his aide until she was stopped by Bruce, “Wha… what are you doing? He needs our help!”

“No. I’m not going to let you…”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?! You’ve got to stop babying me! I can help!!”

“Would you… just look at him! Clark is the strongest person we know. Whatever that energy is… it’s got him. What do you think will happen if it hit one of us?” he tried to reason.

“Bruce… it’s fucking energy! I can… I can try to control it! It’s one of my powers now!” Tabitha pushed Bruce out of the way and did a Lightning Cloud down into the crater. She thrusted her own arms out and aimed for the light blue waves surrounding Kal-El. Her brow crinkled when nothing happened but she concentrated, pulling harder at the currents. Darkseid saw that something was disrupting the energy and put his attention to the white-haired woman. He smirked as he threw his hand out towards her. As the waves wrapped around her, Tabitha yelped and curled into a tight ball on the ground.

“Tabitha!!”

“I’m slightly impressed that you’re able to manipulate the Agony Matrix, human. Imagine the worst pain you’ve ever felt in your life… times a thousand! Now: imagine that pain continuing forever! Oh, that’s right: you don’t have to imagine!”[5] Darkseid laughed. Bruce had to do something; the pain that Tabitha was going through would kill her and her child. Before he could make a move, he saw that Luthor appeared from thin air into the crater. His eyes widened as he saw both Kal-El and Tabitha wrapped in the Agony Matrix; he immediately approached Darkseid.

“Stop! Is this what you want?” he held out his hand and presented a glowing ball of light. Darkseid released his hold on the two League members and went towards Luthor.

“The Anti-Life Equation. How did **you** retrieve it?”

“Apparently, I’m beyond a twelfth level intellect; something I already knew! But, before I hand this to you…” Luthor went to check on Tabitha, kneeling down. She still convulsed in pain and looked up at him with watery eyes, “Are you okay?”

“F-F-Fucking… g-grand…” she grunted. He gently cupped her face.

“You may feel that I’m this cruel son-of-a-bitch who only thinks of himself. And, you were half right. When I first approached you, I only thought of how it would benefit me. You grew on me, my dear. I just wanted to let you know that before I leave.”

“L-Leave…” she tried to ask but shock outweighed the pain as she felt his lips on hers. He smirked at the look on her face, glad that she didn’t think to electrocute him!

“Take care of yourself… and your family.” Luthor went back to Darkseid, “Well…?”  

“It’s… beautiful…”[6] he put his attention back to the Anti-Life Equation. Luthor nodded as the ball of light started to expand.

“Yes… it sure is…”

Bruce looked away from the sudden blinding light that came from within the crater. He panicked as the light died out; he had hoped that whatever it was didn’t do any harm to the two League members. He sighed for relief as he rushed down; while Luthor and Darkseid were nowhere to be seen, Tabitha and Kal-El were still there. Both looked beyond weary however, he knew that Tabitha would need more attention. He helped her as she tried to get up on her own.

“C-Can we… skip the lecture…?”

“Only if you go straight to the infirmary.”

“Of course…” she managed a smirk and an eye roll.

"This is why I worry so much..."

"Thought we were skipping the lecture?”

“Some things can’t be helped. Be glad I don’t want to talk about that kiss…”

“I’m gonna throw up…”

When the three left the crater, they noticed that all of the Parademons and ground troops retreated via boom tubes. Tabitha squinted as she watched them leave.

“Fucking cowards…” she mumbled.

“Tabs!!” she looked in time as Jamila bombarded her.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow…”

“Oh!” Jamila released her quickly, “Sorry! Oh, my God; you’re hurt!”

“Stop; I’m fine! Don’t need to hear your mouth about it…”

“Well, fine, then!” she huffed as Bruce smirked.

“Wait; what are you doing here…?”

“J’onn! He’s back! He brought us all here!”

“… You didn’t… tell him…”

“What? No! That’s your job! Although I think your dad wanted to…”

“Shit! Let’s just get back to Metro Tower before he ruins everything!”

Nearly all of the League members plus the remaining legion of Doom members were gathered outside of Metro Tower. Tabitha and Kal-El were well enough to walk on their own and noticed that J’onn was the center of attention for the most part. She watched as everyone greeted him with warm hugs and smiles, even if they were weary ones. Tabitha smiled at the sight until a thought crossed her mind. She didn’t think she would see him again; she never gave it a thought as far as what she would say or do if given the opportunity. As she bullied her way through the crowd, she finally drew up the motivation to do **something**!

J’onn couldn’t help but to smile as Tabitha made her way towards him. A hard slap to the face immediately erased the grin as the others looked on in shock. He held his cheek as he eyed her strangely; the hit actually stung! His look softened as he noticed the tears in her eyes.

“Tabitha…”

“Why? Why did you leave without saying goodbye?!”

“I… I didn’t want to hurt you any…”

“Telling everyone except me bye wasn’t supposed to hurt?! Did you think you meant nothing to me?!”

“This is starting to sound like a lover’s quarrel…” Kal-El muttered. Bruce kept his laughter in.

“I never thought that. You were so angry and I felt that… some time away would do some good. It made me think as well as come to conclusions.”

“Oh, yeah? What you come up with?” she looked away from him with her head down, trying to hide her tears.

“One: it was wrong of me to manipulate you. It was wrong of me to make you feel as though you couldn’t trust me. I understand all of that, now. And I am sorry. It’s rare that I react before thinking; I should have known better. But, to be fair: I only did it to protect you.” he tried to explain. His words made her mood lighten. After she calmed down, she knew those were his intentions all along. The professor was right; for him to erase an image from her mind, the Martian really and truly cared for her.

“Hey, is it me or does this sound all lovey-dovey?” Wally asked Diana.

“Think it’s just you! Then again…”

“Is that… all you’ve learned?” Tabitha folded her arms and finally looked at him. J’onn smirked.

“You wanted to know if you could ever trust me, again. After what I’ve done, it would be foolish to think that you would go by my words, alone. Unless… they were the right words. I realized that I was afraid.”

“Afraid? Of… what?”

“Afraid of everyone’s opinion. The reason why I stayed aboard Watchtower, the reason why I agreed to be permanent Monitor… was because I felt I didn’t belong anywhere else. Superman, Wonder Woman; everyone else have no problems transitioning into a human being. It’s not hard for them. For me to do so would mean I have to hide everything that I am. I always felt that no one would look at me as if I was… normal. I’m constantly reminded that I am the outsider.”

“J’onn…”

“That certainly carried over to my personal life. I believed that I couldn’t act human around the others. That they would look down at me. Or ridicule me. True, they are my friends. At least I like to think that. However, to be told that I could never love a human because I’m not one? I was afraid to hear something like that.”

“I… never knew he felt that way. J’onn… I’m not human as well. For me to judge you because you love a human would make me… and anyone else hypo…… did you just...” Kal-El’s eyes widened.

“My time away made me come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. What matters is how I feel… and that there is nothing wrong with expressing it in front of everyone. I love you, Tabitha Lyght. I have loved you for quite some time. I just didn’t want the others to judge us. Nor did I feel that they were ready to know about us. That is the reason why I never told anyone about us. It was never because I was ashamed of you.”

“Us? They were an ‘us’?!” Wally stared at the two.

“Tabby, you liar!” Zatanna glared.

“Yes! I had a feeling that they were! Pay up, Ollie!”

“… Why would I have my wallet on me right now?” Green Arrow rolled his eyes at Black Canary. Tabitha’s cheeks ached as he grabbed her hands.

“J-J’onn… you just…”

“Yes. In front of everyone. It didn’t take me long to figure out that this was needed for you to trust me, again. I would like another chance, to prove that you can trust me fully once more. That is, if you’re not with someone…” he quickly glanced over at Bruce.

“O-O-Oh! N-No! That’s… we called everything off! So, no more using your powers on me?”

“That is a promise. I never wanted you to be upset with me. I was only trying to protect you. It never dawned on me that the way I went about it was… unorthodox in your world. I was confused at first when we argued because I didn’t understand that. Now, I do. My interaction with other humans have taught me that as well.”

“No; it wasn’t right that I was moody towards you. I should’ve tried to hear you out. I mean, yeah, I **still** say you should’ve asked me before messing with my head! But… I realized that you meant well. Just realized it too late… I really missed you, J’onn…”

“So did I.”

“So… do we… just, start over or…” she was interrupted as J’onn quickly pulled her closer to him and gave her a lingering kiss.

“This… is so weird to watch…”

“It was meant to be…” Bruce nodded.

“Wait; you knew?!” Wally widened his eyes at him but then sighed, “Of course, you knew; you know **everything**!”

“I don’t know everything!”

“Did you know about this?”

“… Yes…”

J’onn pulled away from the kiss and smiled at Tabitha.

“I know that this may not be the right time; we have villains to take care of…”

“Wait; really? We just helped you save the planet! Can we get some sort of consideration here?!”[7] Atomic Skull asked. Bruce looked at Kal-El who shrugged.

“We’re all suckers for a happy ending. Whatever J’onn wants to say and then a five minute head start…”[8] Bruce said.

“At least we get to see the sappiness ‘til the end…” Giganta rolled her eyes.

“This is what you wanted…” J’onn smirked at Tabitha who wouldn’t stop blushing, “I was doing a lot of thinking while I was away. I knew that I would come back and ask for forgiveness. I made you something… so that you would know how sorry I am.”

“You… made **me** something?!” Tabitha’s eyes widened as J’onn pulled at his pinky finger. She could do nothing but smile at the reddish copper ring, “J’onn! It’s beautiful!”

“And, yes; it was made from Martian rock.”

“From… the Martian rock that I gave you…?”

“Of course not! You made that sculpture from your heart and I will always cherish it. I will always cherish you.” he slipped the ring on her finger. Few of the onlookers gasped. Tabitha shot a look at them.

“W-What?! Ya’ll can’t **still** be shock?!”

“No, you fucking idiot; look at where he put the ring!!” Jamila pointed out. Tabitha gave her a look before raising her left hand. The ring, although dark in color, shimmered brightly against her skin. She continued to give it a confused look until she finally realized that the ring was placed on her ring finger. Her mouth flew open as she stared at J’onn, who only gave her a small smile.

“Maybe I should have done this the human way! I know that we were apart for over a year… and we did not part on good terms. But there is no denying that I love you. I never stopped thinking about you. And I told myself if given another chance, this is what I wanted to do: ask you to be my wife.”

“I… uh… oh, God… I don’t know… what to…”

“Great Hera; you better say yes!” Diana glared at the lightning woman. Tabitha blushed profusely as the others laughed.

“We don’t have to wed right away; I will understand if you need more time to…”

“J’onn, I’m pregnant!” she decided to blurt out.

“She’s… what?!?!”

“You’re gonna be a dad?! Tabby, we’re no longer friends!!” Wally switched glances from Bruce to Tabitha.

“It’s not mine…” Bruce sighed out. J’onn slightly gawked at the woman as she continued to blush.

“It’s… mine…? You have been with child this whole time?” he kneeled down and placed his hand gently on her stomach, “I… I am no longer the only Martian…? Oh, Tabitha… had I known… I would have never left!”

“I tried telling you but… you wouldn’t answer me…”

“I never received any telepathic message. Oh…” he absentmindedly traced his finger across her stomach. His eyes widened as he saw what he assumed to be a tiny finger follow his own, “You are indeed very far along! The child nullifies my telepathic powers at this stage, at least between you and me. That is why I never answered you.” he stood back up and looked at her.

“That don’t… change nothing, does it?”

“It does, actually. I have not been a father in centuries. And just within a few minutes, you have made me the happiest being in the universe! Even more so if you would become my wife.”

“... What…?”

“You have not given me an answer…” J’onn smirked. Tabitha smiled at him and held up her hand.

“I’m still wearing the ring, right?”

“After all this time, why did I expect for you not to have a sardonic tone with me?”

“It wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t a smart ass!”

“That is true…”

“So, does that mean a wedding? Are we invited?” Killer Frost lightly chuckled.

“Could’ve sworn Batman gave ya’ll a five-minute head start…” Tabitha glared at the small group.

“He was serious? Five minutes; are you kidding?!”[9] Atomic Skull started to protest.

“Four minutes, fifty seconds…”[10] Diana smiled at them. The small group of Legion members began to run away. Diana quickly turned to Tabitha.

“ **That’s** the real reason why you were so upset with me! If I would’ve known that the two of you were…”

“It’s fine; you made up for it, big time! But, yeah; that’s why I was pretty pissed!” she gave her a small smile. She looked up at J’onn, “Just so we’re clear: no more mind raping…”

“I’m really not fond of it being called that…”

“And definitely no more keeping shit from me! I’m a grown woman!”

“Yes, my love…”

“My God; these **are** the end of days!”[11] Wally shook his head.

“Hey; has it been five minutes, already? So ready to go kick some bad guys’ asses!”

“Doc… you ain’t a Justice League member for real! You have to stay here!”

“Aw…”

“Tabitha… you’ve been fighting this entire time…?”

“… Yeah…” she eyed J’onn weirdly. He narrowed his eyes at her.

“Carrying our unborn child…”

“S-See, when you put it **that** way, it sounds awful! I’ve been careful…” she looked away as he continued to glare at her, “… ish! Don’t tell me you expect me to not do nothing all because…”

“Yes!”

“You know, I’m already starting to regret this whole getting back together thing!”

“Even if you were telling the truth, it doesn’t change the fact that I am going to be a father; I have a say so in the child’s safety.” he smiled back at her. She rolled her eyes and laughed.

“I really do love you, J’onn…”

“So do I. But, you are staying here.”

“What?! But…”

“This is not up for debate.” J’onn gave her a lingering kiss before he headed away with the others.

“Fucking Martian; wasn’t even here for ten damn minutes and already…”

“My telepathic powers may not work with you but my hearing still does...” his voice made Jamila and the others snicker. Tabitha groaned loudly.

“Well… we can start on the plans for your wedding!”

“Shut up and go inside!”

“And the adventure continues…”[12] Diana laughed as she joined the other Justice League members.

* * *

[1] Taken from Justice League Unlimited episode, “Alive!”.

[2]-[5] Taken from Justice League Unlimited episode, “Destroyer”.

[6]-[11] Paraphrased from the Justice League Unlimited episode, “Destroyer”.

[12] Taken from the Justice League Unlimited episode, “Destroyer”.

* * *

[Walk In the Club- J'onn and Tabitha's fight scene](https://youtu.be/l2UGruFez9U) and [I'd Come For You (J'onn's Theme)](https://youtu.be/uNE6OhG8GD8)!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Or... :( whichever one suits your mood! Stay tuned for the last chapter in this series! I will TRY not to make it another five months! 
> 
> And please enjoy the music selections! I know that a lot of people don't like Nickelback but I do (which is weird. I hear it all the time but not a soul will tell me exactly why they don't like them. They're not a horrible band, honestly)! And I felt that the song was just right for the moment!
> 
> The last chapter will be short and sweet, I promise you! Sooo... it may be out sooner than you think! Thanks, guys for the kudos and reads and being patient! :)


	13. Martian and Wife

** Chapter Twelve: Martian and Wife **

****

“Remember: women are fickle. Especially pregnant ones…”

“Pregnant ones with lightning powers…”

“ **Particularly** pregnant ones with lightning powers!”

“… It feels as though you are trying to talk me out of this…” J’onn looked at his groomsmen.

“What?! No! We just want to warn you of things to come!”

“Any more advice you are willing to give…?” he smirked at Wally, Bruce and Clark.

“Remember the magic words…”

“‘Yes, dear’!” Wally finished for Bruce. Clark shook his head and laid a reassuring hand on the Martian’s shoulder.

“Don’t listen to them! You’ll be fine. Be yourself; that’s who she fell in love with. Although… she **is** pregnant and pregnant women **do** have random emotional fits…”

“I will be careful not to irritate her!” J’onn shook his head with a smile.

“It’s too late for that! She’s gonna find something to get irritated about!” Wally nodded thoughtfully.

“And when she does…”

“The magic words.” J’onn finished for Bruce, “I recall that neither of you are married. How do you know so much?”

“Between me and Bruce, we’ve had enough women to have five sororities!”

“Screw you, West!”

“Wally… you’ve only had three girlfriends in your life…” Clark eyed Wally.

“Quality over quantity…” he said, matter-of-factly.

 

* * *

 

 

“Oh… my… God; this dress is too tight…”

“There’s nothing wrong with the dress; you look gorgeous!”

“Yeah, I know ain’t nothing wrong with the damn dress! It’s the fat ass who’s in it!”

“Tabs, you’re not fat! You don’t even have a baby bump! We **just** tried on the dress yesterday!”

“Alright; shut up so I can do your makeup!” Ashley smirked as she approached Tabitha.

“W-Wait!”

“For the love of Hera; now, what?” Diana shook her head.

“W-Wha… what if he thinks… I’m too fat to marry…?”

“… Is she serious right now…?” Shayera glanced over at Jamila.

“I’m barely fitting in this damn thing! What if he sees me wobbling down the aisle and changes his mind?! What if I make a bad wife? A mother?! How am I supposed to feed two Martians?! I can barely remember to feed myself!”

“Um, Tabitha…? I really think that J’onn can feed himself…” Diana smirked.

“S-S-So, what does he need me for?! I… I can’t… do this… he deserves so much better!” she cried. Jamila kneeled in front of her, giving her tissue for her tears.

“Stop that! Tabitha… J’onn loves you. It don’t matter how much imaginary weight you’ve gained or whatever! He came back to you. Don’t you think that if he felt that someone else was better than you… he would’ve stayed away…? He didn’t. And not only did he come back but he confessed his love for you in front of everyone!”

“Plus, he proposed to you! He didn’t even know you were pregnant!” Ashley pitched in. Tabitha sniffed away her tears and slowly nodded.

“The two of us have known J’onn much longer than you have. Physical attributes mean nothing to him. He looks at your heart. I could tell that you meant much more than just a pretty face to him.” Shayera smiled at Tabitha.

“And, don’t worry about trying to be a good mother! You have all the help you’ll need in that department!” Jamila hugged her best friend.

“So, what? You… bragging about being a good mom…?” Tabitha sniffed.

“Pfft! I’m mother of the fucking year; what are you talking about?!” the professor smirked and finally laughed along with the other women, “Seriously, Tabs: you love my triplets like they’re your own. You have motherly instincts, already. It probably won’t be easy to raise a half-Martian! But just know that you’ll have plenty of people to give you advice. At the very least: me, your mother and J’onn! Pretty sure he knows how to raise a Martian child!”

“Tabitha. It’s okay that you’re nervous. You’re sitting here, wondering what in the hell does this man… um, Martian; what does he see in you. You’re picking at all of your flaws, whether they’re imaginary or not. You start thinking about your future together and if everything will be okay. And to make matters worse, we’re all in the Justice League: you start to wonder about his safety even more! I get it. Marriage is terrifying! But then… when you walk down that aisle and see the look on his face… you’ll start to realize that it’s worth it. It may not be perfect but maybe, just maybe… for every one argument, they’ll be six wonderful, amazing times. You get to wake up next to this guy who’ll just want to watch you in the mornings. And then, you’d never want that feeling to end…” Ashley explained.

“Oh, my God; I wanna get married…”

“You’re already married, ya goof!”

“I wanna marry someone that makes me feel like **that**!”

“And then, you hope you don’t become like Jamila…” Ashley sighed and the room filled with laughter.

 

* * *

 

 

He had never been so nervous in all his life! It didn’t matter that everything was planned out and agreed on; they made sure not to rush anything. He let her pick out the date just to make sure that **he** wasn’t rushing (J’onn was absolutely fine with the two getting married mere days after he proposed)! He knew that she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He didn’t understand why standing at the makeshift altar made his heart thump so.

He, along with the guests, watched as the bridesmaids were escorted down the aisle with their designated groomsmen. The women all donned dresses in a light shade of yellow, matching the tuxedos the men wore. J’onn was more interested in the choice of flowers; the bouquets were a mix of yellow and white roses. It seemed as though everything was a favorite of his bride and he had no problem with it whatsoever!

As soon as the music changed, J’onn nervously cleared his throat. He could do nothing but stare however as the bride made her way down the aisle, escorted by her father. He couldn’t help but to smile as their eyes met. How anyone could be ashamed of her was beyond him! But, then he realized that he was biased; he loved her and would never be ashamed of being with her.

He was glad that she went with a simplistic dress; a short sleeved satin cream one whose hems and collar were the same yellow displayed on the others. They both agreed to no train and her veil was a simple one that cascaded to her shoulders from a hair clip placed around her bun. It was then that he noticed the flower placed on the side of her hair as well as her bouquet: daisies. His smile widened as the two closed in the distance.

The tension in her stomach eased as he smiled at her. Her father squeezed her hand, making her relax even more. Tabitha warmed up as J’onn switched places with her father. As they glanced at one another, she knew that she had no reason to be nervous. That there was no need to worry about what the two were getting into.

J’onn’s worried look made her stop breathing for a moment. He looked at the wedding officiant as he opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry. One moment…” he looked back at his bride, “Tabitha. Last call for backing out of this…” quite a few snickers were heard as her eyes widened at him.

“W-What…”

“If you have any feelings at all that we’re rushing this, please… say so right now. I don’t want you to feel that you **have** to marry me…”

“J’onn…”

“… because whatever you decide, I will support. We don’t have to get married to prove anything to anyone. No matter what, I will always consider you my mate. We never used titles on Mars. But I know it's tradition here... and I find myself not minding people referring to you as Mrs. J'onzz. Even though, that's not the real priority here. If you decide not to be wed, it will not change the fact that I will love you and our child and any other children you give me until my last breath. And even then, you will always have my love. I just... I don't want you to feel that I'm pressuring you into doing something you don't want to do." he stopped when he saw her tears fall.

"Oh, for the love of God; do you know how long it took for me to do her makeup and you sit there and make her cry?!" Ashley sniffed, wiping at her own eyes.

"She's crying...? Yes!" Black Canary held her hand out in front of Green Arrow. He groaned and went into his pockets.

"Damnit!" their outburst made Tabitha turn her head towards them.

"You... you two made a bet if I was gonna cry?!"

"No... half of the League did..." Diana mumbled, "What? The odds were in favor of during the vows. You just made a few people very happy..."

"You...?" Tabitha narrowed her eyes at the Amazon. She immediately blushed.

"… Yes..."

"That... we've gotten off topic..." J'onn shook his head, "I take it that we're continuing with the ceremony...?" J’onn asked. Tabitha blushed but smiled as she looked at him.

"Yes..."

"Good!"

 

* * *

 

 

“Finally!” Bruce smirked at Tabitha as he held his hand out. She laughed as he led her back out onto the floor and they began a steady sway to the music.

“Kinda didn’t take into consideration how many folks are in the League!”

“Who knew that everyone would want to dance with the bride? Good thing J’onn got to go first!” he laughed lightly.

“If he had his way, no one would dance with me!” she shook her head, “Bruce… you not mad that it’s me and J’onn… instead of you and me?”

“No. We’ve been through this; we make better friends than anything. I will always love you and I will always look out for you. But, J’onn is the one who deserves to be with you. You’re… not already having second thoughts, are you?”

“What?! No! Today’s the best day of my life! The only thing that’ll top it will be when I finally get to see this little guy!” she looked down at her stomach, “It’s just… I don’t want you holding no grudges…”

“No. No grudges. So long as he makes you happy and he does right by you. Which, I know he will.”

“Um, Tabs? We have a situation…” her best friend’s voice came through the communicator. Tabitha’s brow wrinkled but she looked around the room to find Jamila.

“Problem?”

“I… don’t know. Gotta find doc…” she frowned but went to look for Jamila. She found her by the dessert table along with J’onn and quite a few disgruntled guests, “Uh… what…”

“It seems that everyone is upset about my cake…” J’onn tried to explain.

“Oh, my God; Tabs, he won’t share the cake!” she pointed to the cake decorated in Oreos.

“You said it yourself, Jamila: this is a groom’s cake. I am the groom and therefore it is my cake. I don’t have to share this cake with anyone. Besides, there are other cakes and treats for the guests to enjoy.”

“Um, J’onn, that’s not what she meant by…”

“It is bad enough that we had to share our wedding cake. They want my cake as well…?”

“What happened to your selfless side, Martian? You know, your utilitarian ways?!”

“This **is** the best outcome for the overall, human! It is my cake, you clearly made it for **me**. I am curious still as to why it was placed on this table for everyone to…”

“For God’s sake; you’re really gonna go that route?! J’onn, you’re not being reasonable at all!” Jamila argued.

“On the contrary. It is you who will not listen to reason…[1]”

“Aah…” Tabitha doubled over in pain, causing everyone to put their attention on her. J’onn immediately went to her side.

“My love! The child…” he gently placed his hand on her stomach. She shook as she exhaled.

“It’s… it’s fine. Just a… little sharp pain…” she managed. J’onn started to guide her back to their table but looked back at Jamila.

“All of your nonsense has made the child irritable. I hope you are happy…”

“ **My** nonsense?! Why you…” Jamila started however she saw the quick wink Tabitha gave her before J’onn took her across the room. She smiled widely but sighed for relief.

“What made you think that you could make him an Oreo cake and he’d share it?” Wally asked. Jamila shook her head.

“Who would’ve known that Martians were so gaddamn hard-headed?! Let’s get a few slices for everyone and wrap the rest for him!”

  

* * *

 

All of the single women gathered in order to catch the bride’s bouquet.

“Remember: no super powers!” Jamila warned them.

“Well, what’s the fun in **that**?” Shayera asked and the women laughed. Tabitha shook her head and laughed as she turned around. She flung the bouquet over her head and turned quickly to watch the ensuing chaos. However, with a slight flick of her finger, she made the bouquet fly into Diana’s hands. The other women looked at her with widened eyes.

“I thought she said no super powers?!” Zatanna asked. Tabitha gave her a shocked look.

“Whaddaya mean; I didn’t use no super powers!” she shrugged. Diana examined the bouquet, unraveling the satin ribbon at the base. When she saw a hint of silver, she quickly narrowed her eyes at Tabitha, who looked away, “A-Alright… I guess get the guys lined up for the garter toss…”

She wanted to cover her face in sheer embarrassment. However, she held his gaze as his hands went underneath her dress. She gave him a confused look at first before she tried to close her legs.

“Wha-what are you doing?!” her eyes widened at her new husband. J’onn gave her a curious look.

“Isn’t this the tradition…”

“You’re supposed to be grabbing my garter not my **panties**!” she tried to hiss silently but laughter spread throughout the room.

“… Oh…” he gave her a wry smile. She blushed heavily when she noticed it.

“Alright, J’onn boy; that’s how she got pregnant in the first place!” 

“Actually, I impregnated her by…”

“They **know** how it happened!” she quickly snapped. Tabitha was relieved when he finally took the garter off and threw it towards the men. Wally and Oliver roughly shoved Bruce to the front, making sure that he caught the garter. He turned and glared at the men, who shrugged.

“Damn; you **always** get what you want!”

“Guess there’s the reason why he’s a founding member…” Oliver nodded. Wally looked at him.

“But… so am I…”

“Eh; think they just felt sorry for you…”

“What…?!”

“Do you think they know?”

“I don’t care; it was fun setting this up!” Tabitha smiled at J’onn.

“Agreed.”

The bride and groom were on the dancefloor with the others.

“So… favorite part of today?”

“… All of it.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Well, I would love to know what happened to my cake…”

“Here we go…”

“Aside from that, everything was more than I expected. I was very fond of the hand fasting. Did you know that was a tradition on Mars?”

“Yeah? I honestly didn’t. Just thought it would’ve been… symbolic. We’re bound together now.”

“Hmm. That is true.” he smiled and gave her a small peck on the lips, “You changed your outfit to mimic mine…”

“Yeah. I mean, if anything… you were my mentor. And now my husband! So, guess it was meant for us to match!”

“I meant to ask but… did you change your alias as well?”

“Oh; yeah! The Bronze Wraith! Wally didn’t think it was good but Clark said it fit… what…?” she noticed that they stopped dancing.

“That… that was my first alias. No one knew; how did you come up with that…?”

“The baby told me to name myself that. Really?! You… I could change it if…”

“No! It does fit you, now more so than ever! I’m beyond humbled…”

“Hey…” Diana and Bruce bumped into the two, “Don’t think for once that we were fooled by your little setup!”

“You’re seriously mad? Look: the two of ya need to stop bullshitting around with each other! You two need to at least try this thing out… Bruce!” Tabitha eyed Bruce. He rolled his eyes.

“You married her, now; do something about your woman…” he sighed out. J’onn chuckled.

“She’s right. I’ve waited far too long for this relationship to develop. It’s long overdue. I don’t need any of my abilities to see that the feelings are there. I never understood the problem aside from your silly decree of not dating League members. Which if I’m correct, you broke…”

“So, it’s settled that it’s all Bruce’s fault… and that he’s stubborn! Di can work her Amazonian princess powers on that…”

“They’re not going to leave us alone…”

“I see this.” Bruce sighed and shook his head. The dancing was interrupted by Metro Tower’s alert system as it blared.

“Seriously?! Of all days…” Tabitha rushed over to the console, “Oh… a Navy sub is sending a distress signal. It’s been attacked. We’re gonna need a search and rescue. Ah…” she looked around the room, “Anyone who’s not Justice League, go into the next room. Doc, escort them…”

“Aw, Tabby; we wanna watch you in action…”

“You just want to find out who’s Batman!” she eyed her brother, Terry.

“Can’t blame a guy for trying!” he protested as they left the room. She shook her head and waited for the civilians to leave.

“Tee, you’re not Justice League…”

“I already know who Batman is.” Tony approached Bruce and shook his hand, “Batsy…”

“Stark…” he sighed out.

“Fine, whatever. J’onn, Clark, Diana, Arthur and John: rescue the crew on board that sub. Bruce and Wally: go make sure that things are okay between Atlantis and the surface at UN headquarters. You know what? Tee, you’re with me: we’ll get James and head to the Pentagon and…”

“I’m afraid not, Tabitha…” J’onn interrupted.

“What…? Okay… I know you’ve been gone for a while and you’re a founding member. But I’m still Monitor here and…”

“And you are still carrying my child.”

“For Christ sakes, I’m just going to the Pentagon!”

“And if you meet resistance…?”

“Then, I’ll kick their ass!”

“The answer is definitely no, now!”

“But…” she looked at the other members, particularly at Clark. He shrugged.

“He outranks you…” he simply replied. Tabitha grumbled and narrowed her eyes at J’onn.

“John, you go with Tee and James to the Pentagon. Shayera, take John’s place. Everyone else is on standby…” she ordered. Everyone left to change and head for their destinations as J’onn cupped her face.

“I am only looking out for my family…”

“I want a divorce!” she pouted. J’onn laughed.

“You would still be pregnant! And I would still outrank you. This should not take long. If we are not back by nightfall, let Mr. Terrific relieve you and go home, our home.”

“Our home…? We already have a home?!”

“Yes. In Denver.”

“Denver?! Why do we have a home in Denver?”

“It’s where I work as a detective.”

“But… why… **Denver**?!”

“Now is not the time for more discussions! I love you.”

“… I love you, too.” she warmed as he gave her a passionate kiss.

“The coordinates are on file.” J’onn mentioned as he left. Tabitha left the control room to meet up with the remaining guests. Jamila looked at her.

“He told you to stay behind…” she hid her smile.

“… I live in Denver, now…”

“Denver…? Colorado?”

“… Yeah…”

“… But… what the hell is in Denver?!”

“My thoughts exactly!”

 

 

 

The End

* * *

 

[1] Paraphrased from Injustice video game. Actual phrase is “Will you not listen to reason?”

[Wedding Song and Overall Theme!](https://youtu.be/UijNOCKDRIo)

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know whether to jump for joy or cry; this concludes another adventure for our favorite gal (well... my favorite girl...)! Be on the look out for book 3 coming soon...ish titled Infinite Lyght!
> 
> I want to thank you guys from the bottom of my heart for all of your comments, reads and kudos! They're seriously appreciated more than you know! 
> 
> I have a few options. I can either take a break altogether to catch up on my reading, go back and edit BOTH Lyght stories, work on something else completely or start on Infinite Lyght. This is why I said soonish because I've yet to make a decision. All I know is that I'm proud of myself for finishing another story!


End file.
